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When to prune and cut top of 'Red Robin' hedge

Steve66Steve66 Posts: 13
in Problem solving
I have a 14 year old 'Red Robin' hedge which, tho' cut every year, has reached about 8' tall and wide that I cannot reach the centre properly. An 'expert' said that he could cut it down to 4' in height and it would be safe to do so now. The cost was prohibitive but could it take such a massive trim especially as this would take off all the top greenery going down to just brown wood? Should any cutting be left until nearer spring?

Posts

  • barry islandbarry island Posts: 1,847
    I always understood that they should be cut spring/summer and never cut back hard.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    edited January 2019
    According to the RHS these can be cut back hard for renovation purposes - https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=145 

    The best time to do this with evergreen shrubs is April/May.   Never when frost is present or forecast as this will damage newly cut tissue.

    A photinia Red Robin hedge needs up to 3 cuts a year to keep it trim.  Worth doing as the new shoots are always red.   I knew just such a hedge in Belgium at Annevoie gardens where they kept it trimmed very straight and quite narrow as a backdrop within the gardens. 
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Steve66Steve66 Posts: 13
    Thank you both. We all agree about a springtime cut if not about how hard. So much for expensive expert advice!
  • madpenguinmadpenguin Posts: 2,543
    I had a Red Robin shrub I needed to get rid of,digging out was not an option,so I cut it back to almost ground level.It took 2 years before it finally gave up the ghost.Always sprouting from the stump left behind!
    “Every day is ordinary, until it isn't.” - Bernard Cornwell-Death of Kings
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