HEDGE PRUNING & TRIMMING
Hedges are often taken for granted in the typical suburban and urban landscape. Hedges allow homeowners to hide unsightly areas of their homes, cool the home with shade, and provide natural beauty around the home’s foundation and the perimeter of the property. However, many hedges are installed without regard to the mature size and growth rate of plants. For example, podacarpus (Japanese yew) grows very slowly compared to the growth rate of crape myrtle shrubs. There are many things that must be considered to properly take care of hedges, but here are two important factors to consider when taking care of hedges:
Tools & Practice
Different pruning tools have to be used depending on the type of plant and purpose of pruning the plant. Hedge trimmers can only do so much to properly maintain a hedge.
Shears might have to be used to provide more of a tighter cut for topiary (plants formed into shapes) or loppers might have to be used for hard pruning a mature hedge that was improperly pruned over the years. Tools must also be cleaned to avoid spreading disease to hedge plants.
Too many people incorrectly trim and prune plants without considering the spread of disease. As a result, it is important to clean pruning tools between trimming of different types of plants and pruning occasions.
Plant & Shape
The type of plant used in the landscape as a hedge has a direct impact on the structure of your proper and maintenance costs. When a hedge is improperly pruned over the growing seasons, the hedge can get leggy and lose shape. Shaping your hedges affect more than the look of the hedge. Shaping actually affects the way light is absorbed.
If you look around, many mature (8+ years) hedges have an inverted shape where the top is full, but the lower half of the shrub is bare. In order for hedges to be full, the hedges should have a slight pyramid shape after pruning or trimming to allow for sunlight to reach the entire height of the hedge.
Victory Cuts Landscaping & Design, LLC can maintain hedges of different plant species and height. We will apply green industries-best management practices (GI-BMP) to properly restore, maintain, and improve your hedges.
We are a premier landscaping company servicing all of Tampa! Give us a call today! 813-513-7888