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Tips for pruning deciduous hedges

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Pruning a large-leaved hedge with secateurs

Tips for pruning deciduous hedges

BBC Gardeners' World Magazine

Published: Tuesday, 18 January 2022 at 3:22 pm

Read our tips on pruning deciduous hedges such as beech, hornbeam and fuchsia.

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The aim of hedge trimming is to encourage tightly packed shoots - left unpruned, they will become an unruly thicket.

Find out how to prune an evergreen hedge.

Pruning stimulates dense growth and reduces the plants' natural tendency to grow as rapidly as possible, which would lead to a thin, sparse hedge.

Secateurs and shears

The right tool is essential for this task - for more information read our guide to tools for pruning. If you're looking to update your kit, our experts have been busy testing the best secateurs and the best garden shears, so you can buy with confidence.

In a hurry? Here are some of the best buys from these tests:

Follow our simple tips below for a great-looking hedge.

When to prune

Deciduous hedges such as hawthorn and hazel can be trimmed between June and September. But cut beech and hornbeam no later than mid-July if you want to enjoy the persistent winter leaves, as the resulting new growth needs time to get established. Tackle any major pruning as the plants go dormant and don't prune in very dry weather.

Trimming a deciduous hedge

How often to prune

Most deciduous woody plants, including beech and hornbeam put on two flushes of growth in a year - one main flush during spring and a second, smaller spurt during late summer. Ideally, they should be trimmed back after each flush to keep them tidy.

Tips for pruning a deciduous hedge

Pruning with shears

Tips for flowering hedges

Flowering hedges should be pruned at different times. Cut spring-flowering forsythia in early summer to ensure plenty of mature wood to carry the next display. Trim lavender as summer ends to stimulate flowering next year. Prune fuschia hedges in early spring, as late pruning can leave new growth vulnerable to winter cold.

Pruning a fuchsia hedge

Deep-pink and purple fuchsia flowers

Tips for formal hedges

If you're cutting a formal hedge it's worth putting up a line string to keep it level. Set the line of string by eye or by measuring from ground level on each cane, ensuring that the string is the same height all the way along. If there are any dips in the hedge that fall below the line, leave them uncut so that they can fill out.

Trimming a formal hedge

Trimming a low box hedge to a level marked by a line of taut string

Tips for large-leaved hedges

To minimise damage to individual leaves, hedging plants with large leaves, such as hornbeam, are best cut with secateurs rather than shears or a hedgetrimmer. The extra time and effort is worth it, if the hedge is in a very visible position. When using a hedgetrimmer or shears you end up with a lot of cut leaves and these can turn brown and unsightly in hot weather.

Pruning large leaved hedges

Pruning a large-leaved hedge with secateurs

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