The commonest gardening disappointment is a shrub that stopped flowering after somebody tidied it. Nothing was done wrong with the tool or the cut; it was simply done in the month when next year's flowers were already sitting on the stems that got taken off.
JV Handyman & Garden Services trims shrubs and hedges across Edinburgh, and the difference between a good year and a wasted one is almost always timing rather than technique.
Old wood or new wood, and why it decides the month
Shrubs fall into two broad camps. The spring flowerers, forsythia, philadelphus, weigela, ribes and most early clematis, set their buds on wood grown the previous year, so they are pruned straight after flowering. Cut those in winter and you have removed the entire display before it opened.
The summer and late flowerers, buddleia, most hydrangea paniculata, late clematis, hardy fuchsia and dogwood grown for winter stem colour, flower on the current season's growth. Those want cutting hard in late winter or early spring, and cutting them then produces stronger stems and better colour rather than costing you flowers.
- Flowers before midsummer: prune right after flowering.
- Flowers after midsummer: prune in late winter or early spring.
- Winter stem colour: cut hard in spring for the brightest new growth.
Hedges, nests and the season that stops work
Nesting season runs roughly March to August, and an occupied nest stops work on that hedge until the birds have fledged. Dense evergreen hedges are exactly where birds choose to nest, so a check before any machine starts is part of the job rather than a courtesy.
Outside that window, most hedges want one firm cut in late summer, which holds a clean line through winter, with an earlier light trim on anything formal. Cutting into a hot dry spell scorches the fresh cut faces, and cutting too late in autumn leaves soft growth exposed to the first hard frost.
- Check for nests before every hedge cut between March and August.
- One main cut in late summer suits most hedges.
- Avoid trimming during heat waves or in late autumn.
Bringing back an overgrown shrub
An old shrub that has become bare at the base with all its life at the top is renovated over three years, not one weekend. Take out roughly a third of the oldest stems at ground level each year, choosing the thickest and least productive, and let the plant respond with new growth from the base before taking the next third.
Some plants will accept the whole thing in one go. Laurel, box, yew, hazel and most deciduous natives regenerate readily from hard cuts. Conifers, other than yew, generally do not: cut into brown wood on a cypress and that face stays brown, which is why an overgrown leylandii can be held at a height but only narrowed once.
- A third of the oldest stems each year for three years.
- Laurel, box and yew tolerate hard renovation; most conifers do not.
- Feed, mulch and water a renovated shrub through the next season.
Clearing up is half the job
A single mature hedge produces a startling volume of arisings, far more than most bins will accept, and clippings left in a corner become a slug refuge and a source of the same self-seeded material you have just removed. That is why removal is quoted as part of hedge work rather than as an afterthought.
The rest of the tidy matters too: cut faces swept off the top of hedges rather than left to rot in the crown, paths and beds cleared, and gravel raked. JV Handyman & Garden Services takes the material away with the visit, which is the practical difference between a garden that has been trimmed and one that has been finished.
Related pages
Questions customers ask
When should I cut my hedge if birds are nesting in it?
Not while the nest is active. Wait until the birds have fledged and take the hedge in late summer, which is the right season for the main cut anyway.
My shrub did not flower this year. What went wrong?
Most often it was pruned at the wrong time. Spring flowerers hold next year's buds on last year's wood, so a winter tidy removes the display before it appears.
Can an overgrown hedge be brought back to a sensible size?
Usually, but in stages. Take the height and one face first, let it respond, then take the second face a year or two later. Cypress is the exception, because it will not regrow from brown wood.
Work out whether the plant flowers on old or new wood, keep heavy hedge work out of nesting season, renovate over three years rather than one, and take the arisings away with the visit.
JV Handyman & Garden Services covers Edinburgh for shrub and hedge work. The contact page takes a description of what needs cutting.
