Hedge Maintenance

When the Scottish weather allows, those of us with gardens love to take advantage of the warmer weather to tend to plants, grass cutting and hedge trimming.

Hedges require pruning and trimming to help you control the size, encourage new growth, support wildlife and where relevant to ensure road and pavement safety.

Here are some top tips on maintain your garden hedges.

Gardening experts recommend that evergreen hedges are pruned twice a year to keep them tidy – usually in May and September – while other hedges like Beech and Hornbeam should be trimmed in late August to autumn.

The most important thing you can do before trimming your hedge is check for nesting birds, even when you want to do some maintenance outwith nesting season. Some birds will nest all year round so it’s important you always check so you don’t disturb any birds and their nests.

It is an offence under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 to damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built.

Pruning is important for the overall health of your hedge.

New hedges particularly benefit from trimming to encourage growth making it thicker and full.

If you have a hedge that borders a road it’s important to make sure it isn’t causing any safety hazards for people using the pavement. 

Hedges should be cut back to maintain the minimum required clearances for roads and footways. For more information on this visit the Council’s website. 

You don’t need to regularly trim the whole hedge but instead you can ensure the top and the side that borders the road is cut back to the legal guidelines. It’s essential that you’re aware of any overhanging branches or hedge growth so there is no obstructing the road or pavement.

If you can avoid routinely cutting back to the same point

You can encourage new shoots close to the base at the end of winter, by cutting back a third of the thicker stems at the base

And if you don’t have a hedge but want to grow one autumn is the best time to get planted!

If you’re unsure if your hedge is causing a hazard you can contact us for advice. If you want to report a hedge obstructing the pavement or road you can complete a Roads Fault form on our website.