Your Guide to Hedging & Edging

Hedges are a great way to block out neighbours, protect your garden from weather, and add shape to your outdoor space. Establishing and maintaining a hedge doesn’t have to be an arduous task, and if you follow our simple tips in this guide, we’ll teach you how to trim a hedge, when to trim a hedge, and give you the lowdown on edging and the best tools to use for your hedge trimming requirements.

How to Trim a Hedge in Five Steps

Hedging is not just about shaping the outside to form the hedge shape and if you trim purely visually you will end up with a thick hedge on the outside that’s lifeless on the inside. Instead, it’s important to ensure sunlight can penetrate your hedge.

Here’s our tips on how best to trim your hedge:

1. Pruning sparks new growth so start by removing any dead branches and thick branches near the base, secateurs and loppers are best used for this. Pruning will allow light to penetrate and encourage new dense foliage to fill the gap.
2. Move on to trimming the sides next, and taper your hedge so it’s narrower on top and wider at the bottom to help the base get sunlight. The tapering can be very subtle so as not to be noticeable.
3. Finish by levelling the top.
4. Trimming can be stressful for the plant so once you’ve levelled the top, apply a dose of fertiliser to encourage new growth. Compost or a slow-release fertiliser is best.
5. Trim regularly for the best shape.

When to Trim Hedges

Hedges require regular maintenance to remain in optimal condition and trimming 3-4 times a year suits most shrubs. Flowering shrubs should be pruned after flowering has finished or before buds form. A hard trim is best given while the plant is dormant in late autumn and light tidy-ups can be done at any time of the year.

How to Trim Overgrown Hedges

If your hedge has been left to its own devices, it will more than likely require a harsher cutback to restore its bushy/full appearance. This may result in bald patches for a while but it’s best to let sunlight in so the inner foliage can regrow.

Be warned, however, that some species do not handle harsh cutbacks. Conifers, for example, do not respond well to having old wood cut, so keep on top of them regularly.

How to Establish New Hedges and Topiary

Hedges should be trimmed early to build the desired shape and encourage bushy growth. New hedges should have their tops trimmed but the sides can be left untouched to promote growth.

Topiary can be created using dense hedge varieties such as box and topiary shears will give you much more control to create angles and curves compared to regular hedging shears. As a rule, it’s best to create a shaped guide to help you shape your plant evenly.

Trimming a Hedge Quick Tips

1. Use a tarp under your hedge to make clean-up easier.
2. Use loppers/secateurs for the initial tidy-up work.
3. Use hedging shears for tops and sides.
4. Use topiary shears for more intricate shaping.
5. A stringline can assist with obtaining straight lines and if your hedge is regularly maintained, you can give a tidy-up by eye.

What is Edging?

Clean, sharp edges add a whole new level of order to a garden, and they’re especially important around hedges to create and ensure unwanted, unreachable weeds don’t grow under your hedge.

To create an edge in your garden, follow these simple steps:

1. Use a hose or string line to mark out the shape of your edge before cutting.
2. Edges can be cut using a spade or edger tool.
3. Use the spade or edger to cut a 90-degree vertical edge, 10-15cm deep into the grass.
4. Remove the grass from inside the bed and dig out the grass deep enough to get all the roots.
5. Mulch the bed but leave the mulch lower than the level of the grass. This allows for a more defined edge and easier trimming of the grass edge in the future.
6. To maintain your edges, use edging shears to create a sharp edge between your grass and garden bed.

The Best Tools for Hedges

The Darlac tools range available at Mr Fothergill’s Seeds has a wide selection of hedging and edging tools including the revolutionary tri-blade shear which makes hedging twice as fast. The Darlac telescopic edging shears make light work of garden edges and their light, telescopic arms mean no back-breaking bending!

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