The Value Of Hedge Trimming

An essential part of landscape maintenance

Hedges may serve a variety of purposes, depending on how they're maintained. Primarily, a hedge consists of a row of shrubs, planted closely together to form a continuous row. A hedgerow can be used as a fence-like barrier, or just as a decorative backdrop or landscaping element.

Regular trimming of any hedge is vital to its health, growth, and appearance. This holds true whether the hedge is trimmed to maintain a formal look or to make it appear more natural. Hedges that are ignored over time can become unsightly. Worse, they can grow out of control, eventually requiring a lot more work, or even heavy machinery, to control or remove them.

Ideally, your hedges should be more than just a barrier within the landscape. Properly trimmed hedges should be beautiful in their own right, offering border, definition, color, and shape to your landscape's overall appearance.

What follows are just some of the benefits you will reap from properly trimmed hedges.

Hedge Trimming Keeps Your Shrubs Vibrant And Healthy

One of the most important reasons to regularly maintain your hedges is to keep them healthy throughout the seasons. Maintaining a schedule for trimming hedges prevents winter cold from harming the plants, when a particularly cold freeze could otherwise damage them.

Trimming hedges infrequently leads to the inner branches becoming woody and foliage-free. Then when the hedge is eventually trimmed, the shrub will look barren and dead on the inside. This is the reason that it's important to keep hedges trimmed, so they're always presenting their green foliage.

Trimming shrubs also makes them healthier, stronger, and more resistant to disease, insects, and parasites. Obviously, the size of the hedge will ultimately determine how it's trimmed. It's also important to consider the species of the plant to avoid trimming at certain times of the year.

Adding Beauty To Your Landscape With Well-Trimmed Hedges

Hedges can be used within a landscape for a variety of aesthetic reasons. The shape, color, and height of the hedge can help define an area by providing a border or block to create a pathway, accentuate a structure, serve as a beautiful backdrop to a flower bed or other feature, or simply break up an open space.

To create a walkway, you may choose a hedge species that grows thick and low to the ground. A taller hedge may be used near the home, offering a means by which to accentuate the structure's architectural lines. Hedges can be trimmed evenly for a more orderly appearance, or tailored in a variety of other shapes to create a more organic look.

When a natural appearance is desired, hedges should never be allowed to grow without trimming. This could cause the shrub to grow out of control, or even damage its health. Trimming shrubs in this manner is like a fine art, and requires more than a little trial and error. However, the end result can be a spectacular addition to the landscape.

Creating Privacy With Well-Maintained Hedges

Tall, thick hedges are a beautiful way to add privacy to your yard. Hedges of this nature offer more protection than a fence, preventing neighbors and passersby from peeping into you private landscape areas.

Hedges of this variety also form a windbreak, which help you and your friends and family enjoy your outdoor spaces even more. Smaller plants and flowers in the yard also benefit, and are protected from the desiccating effects of high winds.

Birds are attracted to taller hedges and may even nest in them. This is especially appealing to the backyard bird watcher, who may like to add a few feeders to their well-manicured landscape.

Maintaining Hedges Isn't Easy, But It's Worth The Effort

If you only have one or two shrubs in your yard, maintaining them will likely be simple. However, keeping up with the maintenance of many hedge varieties can be difficult, especially if you lead a busy lifestyle. You may be tempted to let your hedges grow indiscriminately, but this could lead to an expensive extraction bill down the line.

The professional hedge technicians at Apol's Landscape Maintenance can develop a hedge trimming schedule as part of your landscape maintenance program. You'll never have to worry about the health or appearance of your hedges when you work with our team of experts. Contact us today to get started!