Tidy up overgrown hedges

DO YOU have a hedge that’s overgrown or neglected? Well, now is the time to trim plants that regenerate readily.

This includes beech, hornbeam, yew, hawthorn and privet. Take care, though. Certain conifers — particularly Leyland cypress — cannot grow back from bare wood.

Identify your hedging plants and, if in doubt, trim only the green, living material.

To retain privacy and reduce stress on a hedge, it helps to phase your work over two winters. But if growing conditions are good and the hedge healthy, you can finish the job in one.

Begin working along one side of the hedge. Instead of lightly trimming, as you would in late summer or autumn, cut deeply.

Aim to remove 15 cm to 20cm more than is usual in warmer months. New growth will then be much greener and denser next summer.

When cutting deeply into a hedge, you’ll come across thicker, more gnarled stems, so make sure you have loppers or a pruning saw handy to deal with those.

Finish by cutting back the top of the hedge, leaving it 15cm to 20cm lower than the eventual desired height.

In the summer, the renovated side should need minimal trimming.

Cut the untouched side as usual but, the following winter, give it the remedial cut, if needed.

Thereafter, trim regularly to keep the desired shape.