Summer will soon be here again, and of course we all hope that this year we will get a wonderful, warm summer with lots of sunshine. In the summer, of course, you want to spend the most time outside, so the summer is also particularly suitable for gardening. In fact, gardening usually depends on the weather or the season. Therefore, we are happy to inform you about how to care for conifers in the summer.
Contents
Cutting conifers
In general, conifers are extremely hardy plants that do not require much care. But even in the summer you can do some things in the garden. Pruning conifers is then definitely one of them. If you are cutting conifers for the first time, then this should be done before the longest day of the year. That would be June 21, so officially your conifers should get their pruning before that date, which is before summer starts. However, many conifers, especially fast-growing varieties, can then be pruned again in August. This will keep your tightly trimmed hedge looking neatly groomed.
When cutting back conifers, however, you should always proceed with caution. Conifers are particularly tough and hardy, but they will still have a hard time recovering if you cut them back to the old wood. Therefore, conifer hedges should be trimmed regularly. After all, if a conifer has already become much too wide, then it is difficult to then cut it back to the width you want. By the way, this applies to all conifers, such as the tree of life, mock cypress and Leyland cypress. The yew is an exception, because it is quite tolerant of pruning!
By the way, conifers can also be cut back well with electric hedge shears. Especially with the needles of conifers, it is not so noticeable after cutting if they have been cut in half during cutting (this looks quite different, for example, with the large leaves of a cherry laurel, which should therefore best be cut with small hedge shears). If you want to get particularly uniform hedges after cutting, then large electric hedge trimmers are simply ideal. That is why conifer hedges usually look particularly neat and elegant. A tightly trimmed conifer hedge can be a particularly pretty eye-catcher in the front garden or even behind your house.
Water sufficiently (and in the right way!).
If the summer will be particularly rainy, then cutting your plants may already be enough. Of course, we all still hope that the summer will be glorious this year, and then it’s good to know how and when you should water your conifers. Give the conifers enough water when you have just planted them in your garden soil. In the first weeks after planting, the roots of the plants grow especially strong, but for this you need a lot of water so that they can quickly take root. Therefore, make sure that the garden soil in which the conifers grow should always be slightly moist.
Once the conifer is well rooted, then the extra water supply is not quite so important. Still, sometimes in the summer there are particularly dry periods, without rain, so of course you should water your conifers well again then. It’s best to water your conifers twice a week then, with a good amount of water. Dig a small irrigation channel around the conifers so that the water cannot flow away sideways when watering. This is because the garden soil always needs some time to absorb the water and pass it on to the roots.
When watering, make sure that the water does not splash on the needles of the plants. On a rainy day, this is not an issue further, because then the needles are already wet anyway. But on a sunny day, water drops can quickly act like a magnifying glass. If the sun shines on the water drops, then this can cause burns on the needles. In addition, it is better to water the root balls of the respective plants directly, because the needles of a conifer also work well as a rain screen. Therefore, the water that then falls on the needles, almost never reaches the root ball, because it previously rolls off the sides.
Different varieties of conifers in the summer
Different conifers, of course, again have different requirements, but they all have their advantages. A particularly popular conifer is the yew. This conifer is also exceptionally easy to care for because it is absolutely pruning tolerant. However, be aware that the yew is poisonous. All plant parts of the yew are poisonous (but not the flesh of the berries). So, if you have a garden where children or even pets run around, yew is a dangerous option for your garden. In fact, the plant parts of the yew tree should not be eaten or consumed under any circumstances.
Then again, the Leyland cypress has completely different requirements because it has a fast growth rate. Some Leyland cypress varieties can even grow several meters per year. In addition, the Leyland cypress is a conifer that should not be cut back to the old wood. Therefore, especially with this variety of conifer, it is important to cut it back at least once or even twice a year. If your Leyland cypress hedge is growing particularly vigorously, then you should trim it four to six times a year. Then also make sure that the top of the hedge should not be wider than the bottom, otherwise the sun will not be able to reach the whole hedge.
And in the summer, of course, conifers have a wonderful function in the garden. A bushy, compact and full conifer hedge can provide shade in the garden, especially on particularly warm days of the year. In addition, many varieties of conifers also spread a pleasant fragrance in the garden. And the green, yellow or even blue coloring of the needles immediately gives your garden a wonderful look. Scaly cypresses, like various cypress varieties and arborvitae, then just again have a particularly soft, pleasant appearance that should not be missing in any garden. Take a closer look at our assortment, we certainly have the right hedge plant for your garden!
