Elaine O Reilly asked 13 years ago
My beech hedge 12′ high 10′ wide v. healthy but not maintained I need to bring it back to 5′ high 4’wide. When is the best time to cut back so severely, July/Aug or when dormant.A local garden centre advised to reduce the height in July/Aug and reduce the width one side this winter and the other side the following year. I would appreciate your advice before I take to cutting.
1 Answers
Gerry Daly Staff answered 6 years ago
It is general practice to take off one side of a beech hedge one year and the other the next, especially an old hedge that might be slow to re-sprout otherwise. It is possible that an occasional tree might die after severe cutting. The neighbouring ones can be trained in.
Feed the hedge with tree and shrub fertiliser, or general fertiliser, the year before cutting and next year after cutting.
