Evergreen thuja hedges are popular in gardens and parks as a screen and decorative element. Although the hedge with high and dense growth is usually easy to care for, you should also cut the thuja more often. A reasonable amount of pruning and the appropriate shape can vary depending on the type of thuja.
Required equipment for cutting thuja
If you want to cut your thuja, it is recommended to use a power hedge trimmer or an electric hedge trimmer. While you cut the thuja, the hedge secretes essential oils at the interfaces. Since these oils can cause allergic reactions, it is also advisable to wear work gloves.
If your hedge towers over you, it is advisable to use a stepladder to cut the thuja. Finally, with the help of a rope that you stretch between two stakes, you can achieve a straight cutting edge.
The right time for the care of the thuja hedge
The end of May or June is a good time. In September, another pruning is possible. However, you should not cut your thuja on very sunny days. Here there would be a risk that the cut shoots suffer burns. Therefore, carry out the maintenance of the hedge preferably when the sky is overcast.
Very young thuja hedges in many cases do not yet need pruning. Ideally, start pruning your thuja regularly when it reaches an approximate height of one meter. At intervals of about five years each, more pruning can help the hedge grow more densely.
How to properly prune your Thuja
Limit your annual maintenance by pruning back to the young shoots. If you penetrate too deeply into the old wood during pruning, you may create pruning holes that are slow or impossible to recede.
Before you cut your thuja, it is recommended that you first look between the branches for any breeding birds. In this case, in fact, do not cut the hedge.
Start your pruning at the top of the hedge and work steadily downward from there. To ensure that the lower branches of a thuja hedge can also come into sufficient contact with sunlight, it is advisable to make a diagonal cut. This upward tapering cut can prevent the thuja hedge from becoming bare. In addition, with the help of the appropriate cut shape, it is possible to prevent the hedge from being damaged by the weight of winter snow cover.
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I have worked as a horticulture specialist lead gardener, garden landscaper, and of course i am a hobby gardener at home in my own garden.
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