Early spring is a great time to review your hedge shape as leaves are off. Here’s a visual to help guide you to properly shape it now.
The most common mistake is to cut the bottom tighter than the top. I think this is because when you bend down, you naturally cut in. Instead, stand on the side of the hedge, looking down the hedgerow and guide your clippers from the widest spot on the bottom you want to be and then tilt inward as you go upward slowly. Let the clippers work at their speed, don’t rush it.
To form nicely rounded evergreens, cut the middle of the bush first, going around it completely. Keep the clippers as vertical as you can. I let my clippers hang straight down from the handle as I cut. If you’re using hand hedge shears, turn the clippers ‘upside down’ to get a nice even cut. Next, top the bush as flat as you can, then tilt the edge to blend the side into the top. Do the same for the bottom.
If you use a kid’s plastic pool cut into a semicircle with a little notch cut out in the middle, you can use it to catch the clippings so they don’t fall on the mulch. Then lift it up and dump the clippings into a wheelbarrow or onto a tarp.
If you haven’t yet contact Jacrist for your Spring Cleanup, please do so now. We only have a few slots left~
No big problem; just hard rake and topdress with screened soil and seed AFTER site conditions dry up and allow.
