Guides

Mitch's Mowing & Landscaping guide

When to Trim Hedges in Melbourne's West

Most hedges want two cuts a year, one in late spring and one in late summer. Fast growers can take a third. The timing matters because a hedge cut at the wrong moment, or cut too hard in the heat, can thin out or die back. This guide covers when to cut, how to shape it and what to do with a hedge that has been left for years, with examples from Albion, Sydenham and Hillside.

Two cuts a year for most hedges

The first cut comes in late spring, once the main growth flush is done. Cutting before the flush finishes means the hedge puts out new growth straight away and looks untidy again within weeks. The second comes in late summer and keeps the hedge sharp through autumn.

That rhythm suits most boundary hedges and borders around Albion, Sydenham and Hillside.

Fast growers can take a third cut

Photinia, pittosporum and murraya grow quickly. If you want them looking sharp all year, they will take a third cut. Slower hedges do not need it, and cutting them more often than they grow only takes away leaf for no benefit.

If you are not sure what you have, send us a photo or let us look at it when we come out to quote. We would rather tell you two cuts is plenty than book you in for a third that does nothing.

Never cut hard in a heatwave

Taking a lot of foliage off a stressed plant in forty degree heat is how you kill it. The leaves that are left have to carry the plant through, and fresh cuts expose growth that was shaded a day earlier.

So we will not cut a hedge hard in the middle of a heatwave. If the forecast is that hot, we will tell you to wait a week. That costs us a job and saves you a hedge, and it is the right call.

Shape matters: cut square, not rounded

A hedge holds its shape best when the sides are cut slightly tapered, wider at the base than at the top. That lets light reach the bottom branches. Cut it dead vertical, or wider at the top, and the bottom thins out and goes woody. Once that happens it takes a couple of seasons to come back.

We run a line and cut to it, with a flat top, square ends and tapered sides. A hedge trimmed to a line looks like it was meant to be there. A hedge trimmed by eye looks like it was trimmed by eye.

Bringing back an overgrown hedge

If a hedge has been left for a few years, we usually bring it back over two visits rather than one. Cutting all the way into bare wood in a single hit can leave patches that never re-shoot. Staging the work gives the hedge a season to fill in, and it ends up looking better than a single hard cut would have.

This applies to tall screens as much as low borders. We cut hedges from knee-high borders up to two storey boundary screens, for homes, schools and community grounds.

Cuttings and clean up

A hedge trim makes a lot of waste. A single trim can easily produce four or five times what fits in a standard green bin, which is why so many people end up with a pile behind the shed.

Our hedge trimming service includes the clean up. Cuttings are raked up and go in the trailer with us, and the path or lawn underneath is left clear. For a quote, call us on 0406 740 655.

More on this service: Mitch's Mowing & Landscaping service page.

Common questions