Conifers are wonderful hedges - not only do they offer privacy, but they are also home to a wide range of wildlife, beautiful to look at, help reduce pollution, and are fast growing, so you can have your borders lined with nice, tall hedges very quickly.
It's that last point that we need to address in this blog, though - the fact that conifer hedges are fast-growing, much more than others kinds, like the yew hedge. It's undoubtedly a benefit, but that does also mean that they will need to be cut. Trimming hedges may not sound like the most fulfilling job to do, but with a little bit of guidance, which you will find in this blog, you will find that it doesn't need to become a huge job. It's all about timing...
So, we are going to discuss the best time to trim conifers so that you get all the benefits of conifers with little fuss.
When's a Good Time to Prune a Conifer Hedge
We're going to separate the most popular variety of conifer, leylandii hedges, from the rest here, as most people reading this will have a leylandii. We'll them move on to some advice on the other types of conifer hedge.
Leylandii Conifer Hedges
The best time to cut a leylandii hedge is in the late Spring or early Summer. At this time of year they will be actively growing, so they will recover quickly from the damage caused by the trim, and it will respond with dense growth.
You can also trim leylandii conifers in late Summer, if you missed your chance in the Spring. It's not advisable to take a lot off at this stage, but a small trim to neaten it up should be fine. This is the same for leylandii potted hedging, which you may want to trim lightly twice a year to help it keep its shape.
Other Conifer Hedges
It's a similar pattern for other conifer trees and hedges, like the thuja smaragd conifer plant, but you have a bit more flexibility. You can cut these twice a year, once in the Spring and again in the early Autumn to promote healthy growth. The 'non-leylandii' conifer hedges are slightly more robust when it comes to pruning.
When to Avoid Cutting Conifer Hedges
Trimming conifers is not advised during the Winter months, through to early Spring. This because for these months your conifer hedge, even established hedges, will be dormant, and when we trim any hedges, plants or trees, they suffer from damage. If they are dormant when we do this, they won't heal very quickly, and you run the risk of suffering diseased branches. You want that luscious green growth coming through, but the hedge won't have enough energy to produce these during the Winter.
How to Cut a Conifer Hedge
We'll now ruin through the key things to think about when you cut a conifer tree or hedge.
Get the Right Tools
If you're going to do this job right, and in the easiest possible way, charging at it with your hedge trimmers isn't the way to go. There are a few extra pieces of equipment that you can use to make your life much easier:
If you have an electric powered hedge trimmer, great, but if not you can go the old fashioned way and use some hand shears. You'll need a sturdy ladder, and in terms of safety equipment, use a decent pair of gloves and some safety goggles. The clever bit involves some garden string and some bamboo canes...
Make Sure the Area is Clear
As we mentioned above, conifer hedges are incredibly attractive to wildlife in British gardens, so its important that you check the area that you are about to trim for nests - you cannot, legally, destroy the nest of a wild bird, so if you have nests, you may need to wait until after nesting season to do you cutting.
Check How Much Needs Cutting
You should only prune conifers on their branches, on the pliable green stems. Once they go brown, it is considered 'old wood' and you won't get any new growth once you remove that section. Don't cut into the wood, and don't damage the growing tip - once that goes, your conifer won't grow any taller.
Unlike deciduous hedges, most conifers won't recover very well from a severe pruning, so don't take too much off in one go.
Use a String Line for a Straight Edge
Now for the clever part to make your life easier, and for much better results. Lodge your bamboo sticks in the hedge, along one side, and then tie your string between each cane. This will act as your guide to show you where to cut, in a nice, smooth straight line. At this point it's also a good idea to place some tarpaulin below where you are going to cut, which will make clearing up much easier.
Use Long Sweeping Strokes
If you are using a hedge trimmer, use long, sweeping strokes, while holding the trimmer upright, for an even finish. Start with the larger branches and then remove the string to tidy up the remaining branches that are sticking out at the end.
Cutting a Conifer Hedge - Conclusion
That's all there is to trimming a conifer hedge - a potentially daunting looking job made easy! Conifers are a great, low-maintenance hedge for your garden - shop our conifer hedges today to brighten up your garden.
