When to cut hedges...

Discussion in 'General Gardening Discussion' started by Joolz, Jul 6, 2020.

  1. Joolz

    Joolz Gardener

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    Morning everyone.

    I'm getting highly confused as to when is the right time to cut back hedges. I've read that now is ok, and also autumn. There's one hedge that I could really do with cutting back as it's looking rather woeful. It stems from our neighbours garden but they've cut their side right back to the boundary and have been relying on us to let it grow to add privacy. That in itself is fine but we've lost about 3ft of the garden now because of it. It's also looking a mess and isn't growing very well so I thought that if it was cut now it would have time to put on some new growth before the winter months came. I think all the nesting birds have finished but wouldn't attempt a cut if there were still nests in use.

    Can anyone give me advice? Thank You. xx
     
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    • Alisa

      Alisa Super Gardener

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      Morning,
      I can't say about birds, I see that birds coming into my garden have their 2nd generation of teen chicks. Don't know if they gonna go for the 3d.
      For me 3ft of my only 6 meters wide garden would be too valuable loss of the space. I would cut the hedge back to boundary and offer all the branches to them as required legally :) . Ideally your neighbours should be keeping it 10-20 cm away from boundary level, so that they could trim it from there.
      And then I would plant whatever I want for privacy.
      Hedges can be cut now, so new growth gonna be produced till autumn when can be trimmed again. Or as final one in autumn.
       
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        Last edited: Jul 6, 2020
      • landimad

        landimad Odd man rather than Land man

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        End of March to Beginning of July is on my calendar,to be sure of no nesting. That is how it was when I worked for the Railway. Now is a good time for the hedge to get a trim up so it can put on a bit of growth prior to winter coming back and stopping any new shoots.
        My Hornbeam is due to be cut now and will be if my body will allow it. I shall over the next few weeks take it down to a 3 foot level as it is over 8 foot. Need to keep it under control as we need to downsize from the large house to a small bungalow.
         
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        • JWK

          JWK Gardener Staff Member

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          Depends on what the hedge is?

          I have a lot of beach hedging and it only needs cutting once in mid July
          Any earlier and it will need a second cut, any later and new growth won't harden enough by winter.
           
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          • Joolz

            Joolz Gardener

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            Thank you all for your replies. I'm going to give it another week or two and will be keeping a close eye and thoroughly inspecting the hedge to check for any nesting.
            I'm not sure what type of hedge it is @JWK I know there's holly in it and shed loads of ivy which neighbour lets go rampant along the hedge and our house.
            One part of our house forms part of the boundary wall and I won't begin to tell you the issues we have with where they've planted high growing shrubs and placed a shed right opposite a window. Not the best of neighbourly relationships sadly.
             
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            • NigelJ

              NigelJ Total Gardener

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              @Joolz You probably already know this, but hedge holly is best pruned with secateurs not a hedge trimmer. Also makes clearing up less painful. The good news is that holly will come back from a good prune.
               
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              • Joolz

                Joolz Gardener

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                Thanks @NigelJ thankfully the holly section of it isn't too much to cope with so I should be ok to cut it with secateurs. Mind you, It has been cut with a hedge trimmer in the past and has come back fighting fit each time. :blue thumb:
                 
              • NigelJ

                NigelJ Total Gardener

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                @Joolz Yes it will come back alright, it's just that the largish holly leaves don't look brilliant when cut in half.
                 
              • shiney

                shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                We always look carefully for nesting birds in hedges before cutting as we have lots of nests around. It didn't work out so well yesterday. We had a very careful look through a Euonymous hedge before cutting it and found that when we finished there was a blackbird sitting on eggs :sad: :doh:. It is now totally exposed but she's still there. :fingers crossed:
                 
              • Redwing

                Redwing Wild Gardener

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                She will continue to incubate but is vulnerable to predators. I think it would be best if you could place some of the branches and trimmings over and and around to hide her and her nest to give protection. She and her mate will hopefully find their way in. Otherwise the Magpies are likely to take her eggs or chicks.

                This illustrates how easily it is to miss a nest when hedge cutting, even though you checked it still happened. This is why it’s not recommended to cut hedges during the breeding season which extends through August for some species.
                 
              • shiney

                shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                I have extended the house canopy over the top of it and our magpies tend to keep away from being close to the house as they get plenty of food from our bird feeders 60ft away. Sarafi the cat (lives four doors away but spends all day in our garden) tends to sleep 'all day' very close by where the blackies are - on one of the chairs. He's totally disinterested with all the nests in the garden. Our previous cat used to actively protect them. He didn't even like humans getting near them. The magpies stick to their area further away and are usually kept at bay by the three resident crows that have been here for fourteen years. They also keep close to the feeding area.

                P1490113.JPG

                P1490114.JPG

                The blackbirds are used to Sarafi and have already had two broods in the same 'hedge'. They have been using that hedge for many years although it's a busy place. It is on our patio and the rear of the hedge is the main thoroughfare into the garden. Everyone walks within two feet of it. When we have the Open Garden the entertainment is directly alongside it with dancers, singers, bands, choirs and loud speakers. There is always an occupied nest when that event is on.

                I have extended the canopy further than in the picture and have laid a fully leafed willow branch on top of the hedge.
                P1090931.JPG
                 
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                • Redwing

                  Redwing Wild Gardener

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                  @shiney , it is good that you have taken the precautions you state, particularly regarding laying branches over the nests. Perhaps you could add even more as you see the route in and out that the parents are using. My comments are as a birder and reasonably knowledgeable about nesting birds. Bearing in mind that we do not know at what stage this nest is at, it could be up to a month before the young fledge; approximately 2 weeks incubation and 2 weeks before the hatchlings fledge.

                  Meanwhile your resident Magpies are close; they will not stay further down the garden if alerted to the comings and going of nesting Blackbirds! They too have juveniles to feed. My personal observations are that nest predation by corvids, including Crows, usually occurs at dawn when people are not around and the prey species parents are actively feeding and attending to the young. (My statement re Magpies above in my previous post is an example.) There are other avian predators as well as cats.

                  This is a link with info on nesting Blackbirds. Blackbird Breeding | Season & Brood Facts - The RSPB

                  These comments are not meant as an attack. My concern is for the nest and I do wish every success. I just wanted to point out how cutting hedges during the nesting season is bad for nesting birds. Sometimes no matter how good and thorough one thinks the search is, nests are missed. That’s the point.....Birds choose safe hidden places to nest and if the nest site becomes exposed, predation is likely.

                  As an aside, there is a reason farmers are not allowed to cut hedges between March and the end of August. The same should apply to us gardeners.
                   
                • shiney

                  shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                  @Redwing we are well aware of the danger to the nesting birds in the garden but there are some things that get done in error and we take many precautions to try and safeguard them.

                  Unfortunately the man who did the cutting (he was in to cut back some of our trees - and is a wildlife enthusiast) was told to check and then he was only supposed to cut it back far enough to stop it interfering with the mechanism of the canopy as it extends outwards. He rather overdid it. :sad:

                  We have seventeen known occupied nests in the garden and we saw this particular nest vacated last month.

                  There is no problem with predators at dawn because I'm out there around 4.30 every morning. As there is always plenty of food for the Corvids they are less likely to come nearer the house and have never predated any of the nests around the house. These include that Euonymous hedge as well as, currently, four other nests in the ivy on the house.
                   
                • Redwing

                  Redwing Wild Gardener

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                • shiney

                  shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                  Regrettably we have a garden to manage. The wildlife are most welcome to share it, and they certainly seem to enjoy it, and we do our best to be accommodating. We try to preserve our trees as well but they, like us, are getting older and if we didn't remove parts of them when it is necessary they would be a danger to us and themselves.

                  Looking after our garden is a full time job, hence it is now 4.30 a.m. and I have already been out there checking what needs doing. We have more wildlife in our garden than most of our neighbours combined as we do our best to provide the right situations for them but it is still our garden for us to use and enjoy and to have a safe environment. As do the people that come round to do so as well.

                  If we didn't manage the garden regularly throughout the year we would have to remove a large part of the habitat that the wildlife enjoy. Nothing is black and white with regard to this and not only do we have the approval of some of the local wildlife organisations but have, in the past, been awarded a plaque (never put up) for being a good example of wildlife care.

                  Being quoted excellent guidelines does not help when trying to manage a situation of which you have insufficient information.
                   
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