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How to clip a hedge

You don’t have to be a neat freak with your hedge – but it helps!
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Has clipping the hedges been on your gardening to-do list for quite some time? Charlie shares some gardening inspiration to get you motivated, including how to perfectly clip overgrown hedges, transplant troublesome plants and get your garden ready for the colder weather.

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A hedge is a row of trees or shrubs that aims to create a straight, neat and complete look, either as a border, a privacy shield or simply as decoration. But trees can be individualistic, even idiosyncratic. Achieving uniformity requires diligence – and sometimes innovative thinking.

How to clip a hedge
Evergreen camellia sasanquas form a dense hedge up to 2-3m tall within 3-5 years. Plant behind a low buxus hedge, as here, spacing them 50-90cm apart and your patience will 
be rewarded for decades to come! (Credit: Bruce Wilson) (Credit: Bruce Wilson)

Easy steps to trimming your buxus hedge

Gather your supplies

• Hedging shears
• Tomato stakes (2)
• Stringline

You’ll also need

  • Whetstone
  • Rubber mallet
  • Bucket of soapy water

Here’s how

Step 1

Step 1
Step 1 (Credit: Bruce Wilson) (Credit: Bruce Wilson)
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Soak whetstone in water for a few minutes, then run across blades of shears to make them sharp.

Step 2

Step 2
Step 2 (Credit: Bruce Wilson) (Credit: Bruce Wilson)

Hammer in stakes at either end of hedge.

Step 3

Step 3
Step 3 (Credit: Bruce Wilson) (Credit: Bruce Wilson)
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Run stringline between stakes at desired hedge height.

Step 4

Step 4
(Credit: Bruce Wilson) (Credit: Bruce Wilson)

Trim hedge top and sides, keeping shears parallel with face of hedge to achieve the straight ‘block’ look.

Step 5

When finished, clean shears in bucket of soapy water.

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For you to know

Avoid trimming hedges during long, hot, sunny periods so any new growth doesn’t get sunburnt.

When one of your hedge trees says goodbye

hedge
(Credit: Bruce Wilson) (Credit: Bruce Wilson)

Hedges need all of your trees to be healthy. So if one becomes sick – in this case a murraya with a fungal infection after unhygienic pruning with dirty shears – you need to remove it. You can replace it, but it will be years before it matches the other plants. Instead you could replace the whole hedge with, say, camellias.

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cammelias
(Credit: Bruce Wilson) (Credit: Bruce Wilson)

Camellia sasanquas are ideal for hedging because of their smallish leaves – and their flowers brighten up your autumn garden.

prune
(Credit: Bruce Wilson) (Credit: Bruce Wilson)

After planting, prune the tip of the trees as this encourages lateral growth and they will get bushier more quickly.

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perrenials
(Credit: Bruce Wilson) (Credit: Bruce Wilson)

While the space is still relatively empty, you can fill it up with a row of mature perennials, such as these brilliant red dianthus.

You might also like:

How to grow a hedge

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How to grow camellias

The ultimate guide to Australian native flowers

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