Cut Hedge: You have to pay attention to that

Cutting Hedge: Legal Basis? what is allowed?

According to § 39 Abs. 5 Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG) it has been nationwide since 2010 forbidden "Hedges, living fences, bushes and other trees" between the 1 March to 30 September "cut off or put on the stick", The whole thing is for bird protection. Since the animals are looking for breeding sites in this time, we should refrain from a radical pruning of our hedge and shrubs. A violation is classified as an administrative offense.

But do not worry, dear hobby gardeners! This does not mean that we are not allowed to do any grooming during this time. We may remove new shoots if we do not attack the substance of the hedge. Before that we should however the Hedge check if birds are already breeding there, If that is the case, we have to reset our cut.

Cutting hedges: When and how often does a hedgecut make sense?

If we take the animals into consideration, a care and shape cut is allowed during this period. In addition, road safety must not be endangered and hedges that stick out on the street must be pruned.

In general, a care cut is recommended sunny and frost-free days.
In general, the right time for pruning is different depending on the plant species: some hedges should be cut twice a year and others only once.
For hedges such as European beech, hornbeam, privet, tree of life and cypress trees is enough one cut a year from July.
Evergreen hedges like yew, barberry, cherry laurel and thuja can cut twice a year become.

Cut hedge: Planting, summer and winter cut

At the beginning there is theplant section (also called pruning), which facilitates the growth. Some newly created hedges, which are difficult to grow severely cut back become. These include, for example, hawthorn, hornbeam and beech.
Otherwise there is the Summer cut from the end of Junein which only the tips of the new shoot are cut off. Most of the birds have already nestled in the hedges by then? or not. Nonetheless, we should control this before hacking.
At the winter pruning between December and February The process is more radical and cut back to the old wood.
In general, the later we do the hedge trimming, the less shoots can recover and there is a risk of freezing in winter. Therefore, we should inform ourselves about the exact cutting time of our hedge.

Hedge cut: The best tips

Use sharp hedge trimmers: The right cutting tool is important so that shoots are not just torn off. Either we use a hand hedge trimmer or an electric hedge trimmer. So we get the hedge better in shape.
Summer pruning: When care and shape cutting in summer, only the tips should be cut or we trim them here only.
Winter pruning: In the radical cut, we should cut the flanks of the hedge from bottom to top and make the hedge narrow towards the top (ideally trapezoidal). Older hedges can be cut by a third and younger hedges by half.
Avoid the blazing sun: In the blazing sun, we should refrain from cutting, because young shoots otherwise can burn quickly.
Cut on frost-free days: At temperatures below minus five degrees no hedge trimming should be made, otherwise it can lead to frostbite.

But not only barberry, boxwood and other shrubs enhance the garden. You can find more tips on garden design on our Pinterest pin board. Here you will find everything: from outdoor furniture to plants themselves.