Canberra is tough on hedges. Hard frosts in winter and hot, dry spells in summer both punish a badly timed trim. Get the timing right and your hedge stays dense, green and tidy all year.
For most Canberra hedges, do your main trim in late spring to early summer (November to December), once the spring growth has come through. Follow it with a lighter tidy-up in late summer to early autumn (February to March).
Two trims a year keeps most hedges looking sharp without stressing them.
Spring is when hedges put on most of their growth. Let that first flush come through, then trim once it starts to firm up. Trimming too early in a cold spring can expose soft new growth to a late frost.
Late winter to early spring (August to September) is also the time for a hard cut-back on hedges that handle it, because the plant is about to grow strongly and will recover fast.
Early summer is the main trim. Avoid trimming during a heatwave. Freshly cut leaves are exposed to direct sun and can scorch brown.
Trim early in the morning or on a cooler day, and give the hedge a deep water before and after.
A light trim in late summer or early autumn tidies up the summer growth so the hedge goes into winter looking neat.
Don't leave it too late. New shoots that come through in late autumn won't harden before the first frosts and can be damaged.
Avoid shaping hedges in the middle of a Canberra winter. Cuts heal slowly in the cold and fresh growth is easily frost-burnt.
Winter is a good time to plan: look at the shape of the hedge, decide how much height or width you want to take off, and book the work for late winter or spring.
Usually fine to cut back hard (late winter to early spring): Photinia (Red Robin), Privet, Pittosporum and most leafy hedges. They regrow from older wood.
Don't cut into bare wood: most conifers, including Leyland cypress and many cypress-type hedges. They generally won't regrow from bare, brown wood, so a hard cut leaves permanent bare patches. Trim these little and often instead.
Box (Buxus): trim lightly in late spring and again in late summer. Avoid very hot days.
Photinia tip: each trim triggers a fresh flush of red leaves, so regular light trims keep the colour coming.
If a hedge has got away from you, reduce it over one or two seasons rather than all at once, especially if it's a type that doesn't like hard cuts. Take the height down first, then the sides.
Large reductions are heavy work and create a lot of green waste. That's where a professional crew saves you a weekend and a trip to the tip.
Mowtion Gardens trims, shapes and reduces hedges across Canberra, Queanbeyan and Googong, and takes the green waste away.
November to December for the main trim, with a lighter trim in February to March.
It's best avoided in mid-winter. Cuts heal slowly in the cold and new growth is easily damaged by frost. Late winter is fine for hard cut-backs on hardy hedges like Photinia and Privet.
Most Canberra hedges look best with two trims a year. Fast growers like Photinia may need three in a good growing season.
Mowtion Gardens honours the Ngunnawal people, the Traditional Custodians of the land we call home. We pay respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
