Hedgerows are a fantastic feature of our landscape. They provide a home for a wide range of wildlife, and also provide corridors through the landscape, connecting habitats.
The goal of managing your hedge is to create, and maintain, a thick dense hedgerow, which will have the highest value to wildlife as well as maximising benefits to people and the wider environment.
Hedges are dynamic, living organisms, just like the individual plants from which they are created, and they follow a natural lifecycle.
Good management can prolong this lifecycle but, however good the management, the hedge will require some rejuvenation eventually, which usually takes the form of hedge laying or coppicing.
How to trim hedges
Cut hedges gradually higher and wider
If you always cut your hedge to the same height and width then the hedge will produce fewer flowers and less fruit, and therefore have a reduced value to wildlife. The health of a hedge stem is also reduced if it is cut to the same exact point each year, as can be seen when hedges produce ‘knuckles’ at the end of a stem after repeated cutting to the same point.
Many hedge species, such as hawthorn, produce fruit on the second year growth, so a good solution is to allow the hedge to increase in height and width slightly each year, say by 10cm, and then after a few years the hedge can be cut back to its desired size. Alternatively go easy on the hedge trimmer and…
Avoid trimming your hedge every year
The good news is that it is better for the hedge to be cut every two – or preferably every three – years, rather than annually. This increases flower and berry abundance within the hedge. Perhaps part of the hedge could be cut each year on rotation, so that each section is cut once every three years.
When's the best time to cut hedges
January or February is the best time of year to trim a hedge. This allows wildlife to feed on berries and fruit through the challenging winter months. Hedges should definitely not be cut during the bird breeding season – from 1 March to 31 August – because cutting at this time can disturb or destroy nests, eggs or chicks, which are protected by law.
Take care of any trees within your hedge and look to plant up any gaps.
Are hedgerows legally protected?
Within the wider countryside you need to seek permission if you want to remove a hedge and under the 1997 Hedgerow Regulations, permission will not usually be given for old or high-value hedges to be removed. In domestic gardens it is illegal to remove hedges that are home to nesting birds, or to remove trees covered by a Tree Preservation Order. Advice should also be sought if you are considering removing a boundary hedge on your property.
With such great benefits to people and to wildlife, hedges should be cherished and enjoyed within all settings as a vital asset contributing towards nature’s recovery.
Ben Newton is Wilder Landscapes Advisor for Norfolk Wildlife Trust. He advises landowners on the management of hedges, ponds and meadows, and how to enhance connectivity for wildlife within the landscape.