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Pruning a beech hedge
chicky
Posts: 10,407
Hi there,
We have a newly planted beech hedge (well, about 3 years ago) - and we want to prune it to encourage it to be more bushy - at the moment you can still see the individual whips we planted.
Does anyone know when is the best time to do this? Is it like roses where you prune now to encourage vigourous growth ?
I know you would normally wait til much later in the season to trim a hedge - but that is when you don't want it to grow back too vigourously - so wondered whether this would be different?
Many thanks
0
Posts
I think this would be more like winter pruning of deciduous shrubs than hedging. I'd do it after this cold snap has finished
In the sticks near Peterborough
Trim hedges in the late winter, before birds start nesting, and to encourage them to thicken up. If you're sure there are no nests yet (and it sounds as if there are not) then yes, do it soon.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Great - I will let OH loose after all. He's getting a bit grumbly about the fact that I won't let him do anything anymore, without consulting you guys first ! But better to be safe - why have all this knowledge available and then not use it !