When should you cut your hedge? The nesting season and the best times
Most hedges are trimmed twice a year, at the end of June and the end of August. How to take nesting birds into account, and when to trim each type of hedge.
You trim a hedge to keep it neat and dense. But a hedge is also one of the most important nesting sites for birds in our gardens. The good news: the best times to trim fall outside the busiest part of the nesting season.
The rule of thumb: end of June and end of August
Most hedges are trimmed twice a year:
- At the end of June, after the first flush of growth. Before then, the hedge is still growing strongly and is full of nests.
- From the end of August to mid-September, so that the hedge goes into winter looking tidy.
Fast growers (privet, Leyland cypress, box-leaved honeysuckle) can be given a third trim. Slow growers (yew, holly) only need one.
The nesting season: mid-March to mid-August
From around mid-March to mid-August, birds nest in hedges: blackbirds, dunnocks, wrens and robins. Disturbing or destroying an occupied nest is against the law, in Belgium as well as in the Netherlands.
- Before you start, watch the hedge for a few minutes: are birds flying in and out, or can you hear chicks cheeping?
- Gently part the branches where the hedge is dense.
- If you find a nest, leave a generous area around it untouched, or put off trimming for a few weeks.
Tip
Do any hard pruning or rejuvenation of a hedge in winter, before mid-March. Then there won’t be a single nest in it.
When to trim which hedge
| Hedge | When | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Hornbeam and beech | end of June, possibly end of August | 1–2 times |
| Privet | June and August–September | 2–3 times |
| Yew | end of June or August | once |
| Leyland cypress and other conifers | from May to early September | 2–3 times |
| Holly | July–August | once |
| Box | late May–June and September | twice |
| Box-leaved honeysuckle | from May to September | 2–4 times |
| Mixed native hedge (hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel…) | late winter, every two years | every other year |
- Broadleaf treeHornbeamCarpinus betulus
- Broadleaf treeBeechFagus sylvatica
- ShrubGarden privetLigustrum ovalifolium
- ConiferYewTaxus baccata
- ConiferLeyland cypress× Cuprocyparis leylandii
- Broadleaf treeHollyIlex aquifolium
- ShrubBoxBuxus sempervirens
- ShrubBox-leaved honeysuckleLonicera nitida
Conifers: never into the brown wood
A hedge of Leyland cypress, thuja or other conifers won’t sprout again from brown, bare wood. So always cut into the green, and trim a little more often rather than a lot at once. Once a hedge has grown too wide, you can’t make it narrow again without leaving bare patches. Yew is the big exception: it will even sprout again from old wood.
Rejuvenating a neglected hedge
Has a hedge become too tall, too wide or bare at the bottom? Deciduous hedges (hornbeam, beech, privet, hawthorn) and yew can be cut back hard:
- Do it in February, before the nesting season.
- In the first year, cut back one side and the top; the following year, the other side. That way the hedge stays healthy.
- Afterwards, give it some compost, and water it during dry spells.
How to trim a neat hedge
- Trim the hedge wider at the bottom than at the top, like a trapezium. This lets light reach the bottom and keeps the base dense.
- Stretch a string line along the hedge for a straight top.
- Don’t trim in full sun on a hot day: the fresh cuts will scorch.
- Trim large-leaved hedges (cherry laurel, bay) with secateurs: leaves that are cut in half turn brown.
- Clippings from a healthy hedge can go on the compost heap, or be shredded and used as a mulch under shrubs.
Good to know
Have you put your garden on the map under Gardens? Then your hedge’s trimming dates appear in your pruning schedule automatically.