Autumn tends to bring about a lot of sprucing and cleaning chores, but many of these jobs will require that you stay outdoors, and many of them are all about or (in some way) related to gardening. Pruning the garden plants is an important chore for gardening that you should not be neglecting this autumn, especially since you need to prepare those plants for the negative consequences of the winter season! Trimming is, of course, one of the best ways to boost the defence of a plant against diseases and pests. Additionally, pruning your hedges in autumn will promote green, tight growth in the plant, which will also have the chance to harden off before there is frost.
The correct hedge trimming process
While trimming your hedges during the autumn season, you will need to make sure you remove all diseased and dead wood and any competing branches since they can infect and chafe the healthy ones. You also have to get rid of any dead leaves since you might have pests, including insects, spending the winter in seed stems and hollow straws. It’s also important that you trim the parts of the hedge that have already strayed too far out and could be preventing people from safely utilising your space.
Although many things will have to be removed, you should cut and trim with restraint wherever possible, especially since frost can damage any cuts and freeze the back branches! If you cut too much then the plant will suffer frost damage, and this means you’ll be unable to correct it during the spring. Because of this, cut away less now so that the freedom you have to care for your plants isn’t restricted by the time the spring comes around.
Other tips
Below we have some additional maintenance and care tips for your hedges that you should take note of during the autumn:
- Make sure that you sharpen your cutting tools before utilising them to trim the hedges, as this minimises the risk of tearing branches that you don’t want removed.
- If you are pruning small and rounded hedges, using shears enables you to make precise cuts for these different types of hedges. To make the job much easier and to reduce any tearing, you will probably do well to use your shears with wavy gears and blades.
- If you want to make life easier trimming straight, long hedges, try using a powered hedge trimmer.
- Disinfect your tools as you go, especially before using it for different types of plant, to prevent disease from being spread throughout the garden. Wiping the trimmer’s blade or trimming tools using disinfect wipes is also advised, or alternatively dip the equipment into a bucket of diluted bleach.
- Finally, make sure to cut in different stages if you’re removing thick branches. Begin on the underside then cut from the top down to meet the undercut and prevent any bark from tearing.
Regardless of the season of the year, thriving, beautiful hedges add plenty of appeal to your property and garden.
Readyhedge are a responsible and ethical nursery, situated in the south of Worcestershire. We specialise in growing instant hedging in metre-long lengths, available in either Readyhedge bags or Readyhedge troughs. The heights of our hedges range from 30cm tall up to 200cm tall, and we offer a great, diverse range of hedges for your availability.
If you want more information about who we are, what we do and how we can help you grow the most beautiful of hedges, then take a look at our website www.readyhedgeltd.com or give us a call on 01386 750 585 for any advice you may need – we would be very happy to help you out!