Top Tips for Tidy Trees (and boundaries)
Summer is the perfect time to be trimming trees and hedges that act as boundaries to other properties. In this article, we provide some top tips for making sure your boundaries look fantastic.
Trimming a hedge or tree? Plan your work first
Before pruning, cutting and trimming any trees or hedges make sure you are clear what you want to do. Ask yourself how far back you want to cut a hedge, or which parts of a tree you want to trim back.
If you don’t have clarity on what the hedges or trees will look like when you’ve finished pruning and trimming, then there’s always a risk of over-cutting or leaving your boundaries looking mis-shaped.
What month is best to trim trees?
The best time to do any tree or hedge pruning are when the trees are dormant and have halted their growth cycle. So anytime between late autumn and early spring is usually best for tree trimming or pruning. Talk to your local arborist about pruning before spring blooms emerge. However, typically a tree's pruning cycle is 3 to 5 years, but type, size and health play a role in the cycle that will work best for your tree.
Pruning trees in the dormant seasons will promote a tree’s current health and sustains future tree growth, as well as help with disease management. So it's best to invest in good quality tree pruners if you can.
Allow time for clearing up
Cutting branches and trimming is only part of the work. Many people don’t realise when cutting, trimming or even pruning how much of a mess there is to clean up afterwards. Tasks such as sawing branches down to fit into garden waste bags, or raking up debris can be time consuming.
As a general rule, for every 30 minutes of cutting, allow at least 15 minutes to tidy up. Of course, this could vary significantly but the key point here is to make sure not to under-estimate the cleaning up process.
Decide on disposal
Depending on the size of the project, disposal of cut branches and other debris can be a challenge. If you have a wood fire in your house or an outside fire pit then consider trimming logs and branches to the right size and storing them ready for use.
Using your cuttings this way not only makes home-living more fun (and warmer in the winter!) but it also makes the clearing up process easier compared to having to transport what you have cut to a tip.
Make sure you have the storage or transport capacity to handle how much cutting you are doing.
Use the right tools for trimming trees and hedges
What’s the best tool for hedge trimming?
Different tasks require different tools. If you are trimming a hedge for example, then it’s easier to style the hedge how you want it with a quality hedge trimmer. There are many different hedge trimmers on the market – some are cordless for those tricky to reach hedges and others are petrol powered hedge trimmers. There are also hedge trimmer extensions for both petrol or cordless trimmers that can make reaching for those tall shoots a lot easier and safer too!.
Similarly, trees and large branches require a chainsaw.
Chainsaws
Chainsaws allow you to cut branches that are thicker, and they can save a considerable amount of time compared to using a handsaw.
Cordless chainsaws are fantastic. They are lighter than their petrol equivalents and are much more convenient to use, but they might not be the right solution for very large workloads as they require downtime when recharging a flat battery.
A petrol chainsaw, however, can be quickly topped up with fuel and is ready to go again in much less time. View our huge range of chainsaws for sale
Take TREE TRIMMING safety seriously!
Cutting branches and trimming trees always requires an element of climbing or standing on a ladder while using a sharp instrument such as a chainsaw. ALWAYS take the right precautions and follow any safety instructions related to the products you are using.
Make sure you are handling the equipment properly and that you are aware of your surroundings such as other people who might be nearby. If there are any concerns over safety then stop what you are doing straight away.
Start cautiously and take a one-step at a time approach
When tidying up trees and bushes, it’s best to start cautiously. Trim and cut back a bit at a time and make adjustments as you go along. It’s better to realise you need to cut more than to realise you have cut off too much!
Luckily trees and hedges grow back but it’s still not ideal if you want to shape your surroundings as you like.
Best tools for trimming trees
We’d love to help you select the right equipment for tree trimming and tidying up boundaries, so head along to our online shop to see our latest range of machine tools. If you have any questions or need advice on what tools are best then get in touch. We would love to help.
For more tips on managing and maintaining beautiful trees and hedges in your garden ask our garden care experts
With the right amount of preparation and ongoing care, your trees and hedges should look amazing throughout the year. Enjoy!