Being a homeowner has many pros and cons. Sure you have yard space to hold a great dinner party and garden outside of containers, but keeping up on the yard work can sometimes seem daunting. Even if you like that sort of thing. Here's an easy tip on how to keep your bushes looking sharp without making them look like your 5 year old trimmed them for you.
How To: Easily Trim Hedges Yourself
First rule of thumb when it comes to trimming your hedges or bushes...String is for weenies. That's right... weenies. You have seen how it works, you tie string to poles, and somehow amidst the flying bush debris you are supposed to be able to see this thin flimsy string bouncing around to use as a guideline. It doesn't work... not around here anyway.
Taking the "String on Pole" concept to the next level, bamboo poles were shoved (the same ones we use to stake our tomatoes) in the ground, roughly 6 feet apart and ran skinny blue masking tape (any kind will do really) from pole to pole.
This eliminates the hassle of actually using a level, as you just position the tape on the bush, or stick it to leaves to make the angle in which you desire.
While trimming, be it with manual or electric hedge trimmers, you are able to see your line at all times and from all sides of the bush. It's a time saver and because the tape sticks to the leaves along the line, there's no sagging like you get with string. Sure sure you can eyeball it, but if you have more than a few bushes, sometimes this can be disastrous.
Even if you aren't a homeowner, this is a great tip in case you get the call from friends or family to come lend a hand. Happy Trimming!
Comments (7)
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Just be careful of the cord. My friend, on her first time out with the bush cutter, cut through the extension cord. No electrocution, thankfully, but a lesson learned.
view Lawdesigner's profile
Heh. I just eyeball it though my (landlord's) hedges are pretty leggy/whispy so they're pretty forgiving with loose lines...
view Scott T.'s profile
Also a little rule of thumb- before you start trimming, let it run for a couple of seconds while spraying some WD-40 on the blades. You may not notice it but it will keep the trimmer cutting smoothly.
view tallguylehigh's profile
tallguylehigh: thanking you for that bit of advice, as I've recently adopted a used trimmer and want to make it last for a few more years.
view gregory's profile
If you only trim the outer edges of your shrubs, you'll end up with a bunch of bare branches with greenery only on the tips. To keep shrubbery dense, you must trim some of the branches 'inside the lines', not just 'on the lines'.
view pvett's profile
I second pvett's comment. Also, use regular manual clippers instead of hedge-cutters and trim the branches individually. It's a little more time consuming, but this way, you can make sure that your hedges look like hedges and not green boxes. By trimming the branches below the plant's natural "line" (you just have to eyeball the plant's natural shape and judge which branch goes outside of that shape), you hide where you make the cut and keep the plant looking lush.
view somedudeinvicenza's profile
I don't shear my bushes because it's not my gardening style, but I used the string method to shape the honeysuckle hedge along the alley. This sounds like a good method if you want to be precise in a larger area and don't have a lot of skill with the powered hedge clippers.
Keep in mind that if you want a healthy hedge, you should only shear plants that respond well to shearing. And the base of the hedge should be wider than the top so it doesn't become a skeleton at the bottom.
view Moryse Heron's profile