Out of curiosity, how often are you trimming your hedges?

[dsmith]

Our elderly boarder had been taking care of our hedges, but I had to forbid him from any outside work after another fall. He's driving us crazy, because he was trimming the hedges every day. He would do about 30 minutes a day, so he would get maybe 1/8th of them done a day. I don't see anyone in the neighborhood trimming their hedges every day! He's got my mother-in-law on board with his method, so as soon as they see anything going about 2 -4 inches above the height, then I hear how the hedges are getting sloppy and overgrown. We don't have the time or inclination to trim them as often as he did. My mother-in-law will come up with schemes, like so and so's daughter's friend's son maybe can do them if we pay him $50. (This is only a slight exaggeration, lol.) Eventually, he will try to sneak out and do them just to show us that he can. If it matters, these are more formal looking hedges that follow the border of our property and the road, not that we live in some fancy house or anything. So how often is reasonable between trimmings?

[Laura Corin]

A couple of times a year when we had hedges? We didn't start until midsummer when all the chicks had fledged.

[QueenCat]

A couple of times a year. 

[Pawz4me]

We don't really have anything that needs trimming now, but when we did usually it was once or twice a year.

[Innisfree]

Twice a year is fine and standard, even for public gardens. That poor hedge must look like a shorn sheep.

[Katy]

Twice a year. 

[marbel]

When we had hedges, we trimmed them a few times a  year. Our neighbor gives his a light trim every week. 

It really depends on the growth patterns of the hedges, and the preference of the homeowner. How high is too high? How messy do they look after a week, a month, 6 months? 

[SKL]

I'm pleading the fifth on mine.

But I wanted to say - I can understand wanting to spread the job out over many days as our physical abilities decline.  Better than trying to do a lot of that at once, also better than just letting it go forever.

It's sad that he's losing the ability to go outside and do a little yard work.  Is there anything else he can do that is less dangerous?

[Mom_to3]

The ones that risk blocking our neighbors' view as they exit their driveway, quite a few times in season. The ones that don't block anything - maybe 3 times a summer? Depends on how much they are growing, which depends on how much rain we get.

[Harriet Vane]

Honestly, almost never. It’s a purposeful choice to let the bush be what it wants to be. 

That said, we do trim some specific spots 3-4 times a year to keep growth off the house or to keep a path clear for walking. 

[dsmith]

25 minutes ago, SKL said:

I'm pleading the fifth on mine.

But I wanted to say - I can understand wanting to spread the job out over many days as our physical abilities decline.  Better than trying to do a lot of that at once, also better than just letting it go forever.

It's sad that he's losing the ability to go outside and do a little yard work.  Is there anything else he can do that is less dangerous?

We're trying to come up with something. I've had to take a few jobs away from him over the last year, both for my sanity and his safety. He sets up dishes for my mother-in-law for her breakfast, takes out the small bag we have in the kitchen for recycling (he will do this if there is two bottles in there, lol) wakes up my mother-in-law in the morning and acts as her personal snooze alarm, which is good exercise for him I guess, We call him her man-servant when nobody is around.😁He will set the table if I don't get to it first, but I'm not crazy about him doing it. He eats cookies all day, and his hands are always greasy. He's not great with personal hygiene in general. He gets the cardboard ready for recycling. He's one of those people that needs constant activity. He will do word search puzzles when he's not watching tv. I will have him do some light dusting here and there, or sweep the hard floors. I've run out of ideas! 

[Indigo Blue]

Twice per year. I try to keep them a certain size. 

[TechWife]

Usually once a year, sometimes twice. If I’m doing other yard work and there’s a branch not growing in sync with the others then I’ll snip it off. Other than that, it grows as it grows. I save my energy for my flower beds and containers, which just need regular watering & deadheading. 

[crazyforlatin]

I will only have Dh trim any that impedes the pedestrians on the sidewalk. Otherwise I’m trying to grow them to 10 feet so at this point they are varying height, and DH really, really wants to trim them. My neighbor did it a few months ago, but his are about 2 feet tall. Some people like it very level.

[ScoutTN]

I, personally, am never doing this, but my Dh does once or twice a year.

[Ausmumof3]

Am I the only one that thought this thread was going to be about something else 😂

[BeachGal]

Some people love pruning. I am one of those people.

However, how often you prune depends on the plant and what you’re trying to achieve. I could easily have selectively pruned (not a fan of shearing) my old privet hedge four times during the growing season because it grew incredibly fast. With my Hicks yews hedge I would prune them before their first flush of growth and then lightly after the first and second flushes of growth just to tidy up areas that were out of line.

You could tell your boarder that too much pruning, especially at the wrong times of the season, can do more harm than good. Pruning causes the plant to send messages throughout itself that it has been cut and needs to be repaired. The cut is an open wound that can let in pathogens that can cause disease. Sterilizing cutting tool blades before and while pruning can help prevent disease but even rain and wind can introduce these pathogens. It can also cause the plant to push out new growth which initially will be soft and will need time to harden off. This is especially important to remember in fall right before freezing weather arrives; new growth dies back more easily. All these things are stressors to the plant.

Maybe he could take over a different, safer chore in your yard. It sounds like he enjoys being outside.

[crazyforlatin]

7 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Am I the only one that thought this thread was going to be about something else 😂

And now the entire thread reads differently….

[Kassia]

7 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Am I the only one that thought this thread was going to be about something else 😂

I was waiting for this and it took longer than I expected...

[Pam in CT]

It depends on the type of shrub, my schedule and energy levels.  For most types, ~2 ish times a year as it looks untidy. For forsythia, just once right after blooms are done and then I just let er rip thereafter so I can cut over the winter to force indoors. For my Mountain O Roses, a painstaking surgical effort just after first bloom to encourage a second bloom (I just did this two days ago so it's very much on my mind), and a hard full job in the late fall.  For spirea I whack them back hard after blooming and the ones in the sun bloom again and get floppy and untidy but the shadier ones are good for the rest of the year.

Some shrubs really want to be pruned at a specific time, and would be set back/damaged by too frequent or carelessly timed pruning.  I would be howling in dismay if someone touched my hydrangea during growing season. Box or privet (or forsythia) OTOH can take it more frequently.

 

[QueenCat]

2 hours ago, Kassia said:

I was waiting for this and it took longer than I expected...

Newbies are wondering, "what?"

[gstharr]

9 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Am I the only one that thought this thread was going to be about something else 😂

I first checked to see if ktgrok had posted this. But,   I find the replies hilarious reading them as if they were about something else

[QueenCat]

18 minutes ago, gstharr said:

I first checked to see if ktgrok had posted this. But,   I find the replies hilarious reading them as if they were about something else

Yes... Like why would the boarder being trimming her hedges????????????? Bah hah hah!

[dsmith]

On 6/18/2024 at 4:42 PM, QueenCat said:

Yes... Like why would the boarder being trimming her hedges????????????? Bah hah hah!

I just spit out my breakfast! I need to scrub my brain lol.

[gstharr]

On 6/17/2024 at 11:18 AM, marbel said:

 

It really depends on the growth patterns of the hedges, and the preference of the homeowner. How high is too high? How messy do they look after a week, a month, 6 months? 

Bada bing,

[Kanin]

On 6/18/2024 at 6:28 AM, Ausmumof3 said:

Am I the only one that thought this thread was going to be about something else 😂

Oh, I definitely did 😂

I trim my hedges (outdoor plants!!) once a year. Should do it twice a year probably.