What is the best month to cut a laurel hedge?

When should you not cut hedges?

We recommend avoiding hedge cutting during the main breeding season for nesting birds, which usually runs throughout March to August each year. This can be weather dependent and some birds may nest outside this period, so it is important to always check carefully for active nests prior to cutting.

Does cutting laurel encourage growth?

To prune laurel to encourage growth, we’d recommend trimming the branches and cutting them back several times a year (depending on how fast it grows) by up to a quarter. This makes the bush come back bushier and thicker than before more rapidly.

How many times a year can you cut hedges?

Formative pruning is usually carried out in winter or early spring. After this, maintenance trimming is carried out, usually once a year for informal hedges and twice a year for formal hedges. Some formal hedges may need three cuts a year. Maintenance trimming is generally carried out between spring and summer.

How do you maintain a laurel hedge?

Once you’ve planted your laurel hedging plants, you need to make sure they get enough water to keep them alive and growing well. Usually plants only need watering from March to October. During the winter months, they use less water and normally get enough from the rain.

How do you prune an overgrown laurel hedge?

Can I cut laurel hedge in August?

Laurel is easier to trim if done twice a year; because the branches are not as woody, and there are a lot less trimmings to deal with. Laurel trimmed in August still has plenty of time for regrowth before the winter; but not so much growth as to leave the hedge looking untidy during the Winter, and early spring months.

What month should you trim bushes?

Winter is usually the best time.

Dormant pruning is usually done in late winter, six to 10 weeks before the average last frost in your area. You can prune shrubs at any time of year if it’s necessary—for example, to remove broken branches or dead or diseased wood, or to remove growth that is obstructing a walkway.

Is it against the law to cut hedges in summer?

Wildlife Protection

The months of March through to the end of July is the breeding season for birds and as far as hedge cutting is concerned is considered a closed season and unless there exists unavoidable health and safety concerns hedge cutting during this season should be avoided.

Is it OK to trim bushes in August?

Do not prune deciduous shrubs in late summer. Pruning shrubs in August or early September may encourage a late flush of growth. This new growth may not harden sufficiently before the arrival of cold weather and be susceptible to winter injury.

Is September too late to trim bushes?

Few plants are pruned this time of year because pruning encourages new growth that does not have time to harden off before winter. Late-season pruning typically does more harm than good.

Is it OK to trim bushes in late fall?

DON’T prune during fall.

No matter what type of shrub you have, fall pruning can stimulate late-season growth that may not have enough time to harden. This can weaken and damage the plant—especially if there’s an early frost. Instead, wait until winter and trim bushes when the plant is in deep dormancy.

What should I cut back in September?

September presents us with a good opportunity to prune evergreen shrubs or hedges such as Abelia, Shrubby Honeysuckle, Privet, or English Yew, as well as fruit bushes. Climbers like Common Jasmine, Common Honeysuckle, Climbing Roses, and Passion Flower can also benefit from September pruning.

What should you not cut back in fall?

Don’t cut back marginally hardy perennials like garden mums (Chrysanthemum spp.), anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), red-hot poker (Kniphofia uvaria), and Montauk daisy (Nipponanthemum nipponicum).

What should you not cut in fall?