Hedge Trimming

Our Hedge Trimming Services

Formal Hedge Trimming and Shaping

Clean lines and consistent form for structured garden hedges.

Formal hedges, those grown for clean geometric lines rather than a natural or loose form, require the most precise and consistent trimming of any hedge type. The goal is a surface that is even, without undulation or visible high and low points, with crisp defined edges at the top and sides. This takes technique, good equipment, and the patience to work carefully rather than quickly.

We trim formal hedges using appropriate powered and hand tools depending on the hedge type, scale, and finish required. For large straight runs of established hedging, professional hedge trimmers produce an efficient and even result. For corners, curves, shaped tops, and finishing work, hand shears and selective pruning produce the level of precision that powered equipment alone cannot.

We work with all common formal hedging species used in Hobart gardens, including:

• Buxus (box), both common box (Buxus sempervirens) and Japanese box (Buxus microphylla)
• Photinia ‘Red Robin’ and related cultivars
• Murraya (orange jessamine)
• Viburnum, including Viburnum tinus and Viburnum odoratissimum
• Pittosporum species and cultivars
• Lilly pilly (Syzygium species)
• Lonicera nitida (poor man’s box)
• Escallonia
• Griselinia littoralis

For each species, we know the appropriate trimming frequency, how hard the plant will tolerate being cut, and what time of year produces the best result.

Native and Informal Hedge Trimming

Shaping and maintaining hedges that are meant to look natural, not geometric.

Not every hedge needs a ruler-straight profile. Informal hedges, particularly those using native or near-native species, often look their best when shaped and tidied rather than cut to a hard geometric form. The goal is a maintained, purposeful appearance that retains some naturalism while still reading as a defined garden element rather than unmanaged growth.

Native species commonly used as informal hedges in Hobart gardens include:

• Westringia (coastal rosemary) and its many compact cultivars
• Melaleuca species, particularly the smaller-growing forms
• Callistemon (bottlebrush), used as a loose screening hedge
• Olearia species (daisy bush)
• Banksia and Grevillea where used as screening or windbreak plantings
• Kunzea ambigua and related species

Informal hedges often coincide with flowering periods that need to be respected. We time trimming for these species carefully, generally immediately after flowering, to preserve the flowering display and avoid cutting off the growth that will carry next season’s blooms.

Screening Plant Maintenance

Managing fast-growing screening plants before they become a structural problem.

Screening plants, often chosen for their speed of establishment, are among the most maintenance-intensive hedging situations. Species like Pittosporum, Photinia, Viburnum odoratissimum, and Lilly pilly can grow half a metre or more in a single season, and without regular management they quickly exceed their intended size, shade out areas they were never meant to shade, and develop the kind of top-heavy structure that is difficult to reverse without hard renovation.

The most effective approach to fast-growing screening plants is regular trimming on a schedule that manages the growth increment rather than allowing it to accumulate, because catching up from a significantly overgrown screen is always more work, and more risk to the plant, than staying ahead of it.

We offer scheduled trimming programmes for screening plants specifically, with visit frequency calibrated to the growth rate of the species and the desired maintained height and width.

Topiary and Shaped Specimens

Precision trimming for formally shaped individual plants.

Topiary and formally trained specimens, whether simple balls and cones or more complex architectural forms, require careful, precise trimming to maintain their shape. A specimen that has been worked into a defined form over several years is a genuine garden asset; an irregular or asymmetrical cut makes that immediately visible in a way that flat hedge trimming does not.

We trim topiary and shaped specimens by hand, using hand shears and occasionally secateurs for internal or detailed work. The approach is methodical: assessing the form from multiple angles before cutting, working gradually rather than committing too much in a single pass, and finishing with close inspection from a distance.

If you have topiary or shaped specimens that have lost their form through inconsistent trimming or a period of neglect, we can advise on what’s required to restore them and over what timeframe.

Hedge Renovation

Restoring overgrown or misshapen hedges to good form.

Hedges that have been allowed to grow beyond their intended size, or that have been cut inconsistently and developed an uneven or bulging profile, can often be renovated back to a good shape, but it requires judgment about what is achievable and over what timeframe.

Some hedges can be reduced significantly in a single cut, particularly certain resilient species that break back reliably from old wood. Others need to be brought back gradually over two or three seasons, reducing one face at a time to avoid taking too much from the plant at once. A few situations are more complex, and honest advice about realistic outcomes is part of what we offer.

Before committing to a hedge renovation, we’ll assess the species, the current structure, the available growing season, and what the hedge’s purpose requires, and give you a clear picture of what to expect before any cutting begins.

Hedge Trimming for New Plantings

Training young hedges toward their intended form from the start.

The way a young hedge is managed in its first few years has a significant effect on the density, structure, and form it develops over time. Counter-intuitively, cutting back young hedge plants more assertively in the early years encourages branching and density at the base, which produces a better-filled, more solid hedge over the long term than plants that are simply allowed to grow upward without intervention.

We manage new hedge plantings with that long-term outcome in mind, making formative cuts that develop structure rather than simply maintaining whatever the plant produces naturally. A hedge that is trained well from establishment requires less remedial work and looks better at every subsequent stage of its life.

Timing: When Different Hedges Should Be Trimmed

Timing is one of the most important and most often misunderstood aspects of hedge trimming. Here is a general guide for the most common situations in Hobart gardens.

Box (Buxus). Box responds well to trimming through the growing season from spring through to autumn. In Hobart, two to three trims per year is typical for a formal maintained hedge. Avoid trimming in very cold weather or immediately before a frost period, as fresh cuts can be damaged by cold.

Photinia. The signature red new growth of Photinia is produced after trimming, so timing cuts to allow that flush to develop and harden before the next cut produces the best ornamental result. Two to three cuts per year through the growing season works well.

Viburnum and Pittosporum. These resilient hedging plants tolerate trimming through most of the growing season. Flowering varieties should be trimmed after flowering to preserve the display.

Murraya. Murraya flowers from late spring through summer and into autumn. Trim after the main flowering flush to maintain the display, and avoid late autumn trimming in cold climates.

Native species. Most native hedging plants are best trimmed immediately after their main flowering period, which varies by species. This preserves the flower display, allows the plant to put energy into new growth before trimmer comes off again, and avoids the stress of cutting during dormancy or extreme heat.

Fast-growing screens. These benefit from multiple trims per year, with the frequency depending on the growth rate of the species and the desired maintained size. Staying ahead of the growth is always less work than catching up.

We manage these schedules as part of ongoing hedge trimming programmes, so the work happens at the right time without you needing to track it.

How We Work

1. Assessment For new clients, we assess the hedges on the property before quoting: species, current condition, desired form, and any issues such as dieback, pest activity, or structural problems that need attention.
2. Scheduling We establish a trimming schedule appropriate to the hedge species, growth rate, and the standard you want to maintain. For properties with multiple hedge types, different schedules may apply to different areas.
3. Trimming We trim to the agreed form using appropriate equipment, finishing each section before moving to the next. All trimmings are collected and removed as part of the service.
4. Clean-Up Trimming generates significant debris. We clean up all clippings from garden surfaces, paths, lawns, and beds as part of every visit. The garden should look better after we leave, not just the hedges.
5. Observation We keep an eye on hedge health at every visit. Box blight, scale insects, and other problems are far easier to address when caught early. If we notice anything concerning, we flag it.