How to Prune Hedges

Plant a hedge to mark boundaries, form a barrier, create a background or define a planting bed. All hedges will look best if kept trimmed and in good health.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bamboo Garden Stakes
• Garden Stakes
• Hedge Shears
• String
• Electric Hedge Shears

1. Begin trimming hedges when they're first planted. Young plants respond well to shaping and training.

2. Cut a few inches off the top of a hedge plant as soon as it has been planted. This will help form bushy plants.

3. Use a string guide to keep your hedges even. Place a bamboo stake at either end of the hedgerow. String a line between the two stakes at the desired height of the finished hedge. Use hedge trimmers and follow the string line.

4. Shape the hedge so that it's wider at the bottom. Sunlight will reach all the leaves if the hedge is pruned this way. Taper the plants in as you near the top.

5. Trim during the active growing season. You may have to trim more than once, but you'll avoid making mistakes that can't be rectified.

6. Trim lightly at the end of the growing season to keep hedges looking good throughout the winter months.

Tips & Warnings

• The ideal hedge plant has scaffolding branches that start at the ground. Boxwood, holly, juniper and privet are all excellent choices for hedging.
• Evergreen hedges such as juniper and cypress should never be trimmed below the foliage or they won't grow back. Clip only a few inches from the previous year's growth.