Fertilise your hedges at the beginning of spring and water well after feeding to prevent leaf burn. If your hedges aren’t fertilised or watered often enough, their growth will be considerably slower. Adding the right kind of mulch around your hedges will increase the organic matter in the soil and help your hedges to have healthy growth during the spring and summer growing season.

Having your hedges trimmed at the right times of the year means they won’t have to be trimmed as often. Effective trimming also maximises the density and cover of formal hedges and improves the flowering for informal varieties.

Knowing best when to trim is by identifying your hedge type, refer to the Identifying Your Hedge pages.

TRIMMING NEW HEDGES
The process of shaping a hedge when it’s young is called formative pruning. The aim is to develop a well-spaced and balanced framework of branches that will create the desired shape of your hedge. If formative pruning is neglected or not done properly, your hedge will later require corrective pruning.

The best hedge will be dense right to the ground and be slightly narrower at the top than at the bottom. Being narrower at the top allows the sun to reach the foliage at the bottom.

CONIFERS
Conifers are evergreen trees with needle-type leaves and produce cones instead of flowers. Conifers have only one main trunk that extends all the way to the top and are best suited for formal hedge trimming.

Conifers should be pruned in late winter or early spring to encourage lush, healthy foliage during spring. By trimming at this time of year there is also less risk of fungal infections because the bark is more easily damaged while the trees are growing. A second trimming if needed, can be done in mid-late summer.

DECIDUOUS HEDGES
A deciduous hedge will shed it leaves annually during autumn. Formative pruning is best done just after winter planting and maintenance pruning during the summer growing season.

EVERGREEN HEDGES
An evergreen hedge retains its leaves throughout the year. Formative pruning after spring planting and maintenance pruning 3-4 times per year, mid-spring, early summer, mid-summer and end of the growing season in March.