How to Prune a Cedar Hedge

Heavy pruning will kill a cedar hedge.

Cedar is a variety of evergreen that grows into a tree if left unpruned, but cedar is also commonly used as a hedge. Multiple cedar shrubs are grown closely together and pruned into a single long shape to make a hedge. To maintain the hedge shape, you must prune the cedar annually to reduce the height and width. Proper timing and technique are critical when pruning cedar, since cutting off too much or at the wrong time will leave bare spots that will not grow back.

Things You'll Need

• Work gloves
• Safety glasses
• Hedge trimmers
• Rake

Instructions

1. Wait until the midsummer months, preferably July or early August, to prune the cedar hedge.

2. Put on work gloves and safety glasses. Plug in the cord of an electric hedge trimmer tool.

3. Position the hedge trimmer parallel with the top of the cedar hedge and turn on the trimmer. Move the trimmer down so you will shear off no more than 1/2 to 1 inch of growth. Move the trimmer flat across the top of the hedge.

4. Move to one side of the cedar hedge, and turn the trimmer so it is perpendicular to the hedge. Move the trimmer downward, trimming off 1/2 to 1 inch of growth from the sides. As you move downward, move the trimmer out slightly so the bottom of the hedge is 1/2 inch longer than the top of the hedge.

5. Repeat the process on all remaining sides of the cedar hedge.

6. Rake up all the cedar trimmings and toss them into a compost pile.

Tips & Warnings

• If desired, you can also perform the pruning process with pruning shears.

• You can trim off any diseased, damaged, or dead branches at any time.

• Do not cut the cedar hedge branches back to where no foliage grows or you will create a bare spot that will never fill back in.

References

• North Carolina Cooperative Extension; Pruning Trees and Shrubs; M.A. Powell; 1983
• Richmond Nursery: Pruning Hedges