HOW TO MAINTAIN YOUR HEDGES THINGS YOU’LL NEED: Old fashioned hedging shears Sharpening stone Oil (for sharpening blade) Gloves Trowel Bucket water Towel (for drying tools) Green pot scrubber Sunlight soap METHOD: SHARPEN/CLEAN YOUR TOOLS Well cared for pruning tools will give a cleaner cut, which reduces the risk of introducing plant diseases and makes pruning physically less effort. Start by making sure your pruning tools are clean. Remove any ingrained dirt or sap, using a wire brush or wire wool if necessary. Wash them in soapy water then dry them. To sharpen, hold the tool firmly in position then pass the sharpener over the edge of the blade. Use a file, whetstone or sharpening stone appropriate to the size of the blade. Only sharpen the cutting blade itself, working the stone in the same direction as the bevel. It should take between two to five passes of the file or stone to complete the sharpening. Finish by sealing the blade edges with oil.

TIPS Trim little and often! Aim to conduct all trimming tasks when the shrubs are dry. It is easier to keep a straight line with an electrical or motorised pruning shears. If the blades are kept sharp, the damage to the leaves is less than expected. Electrical appliances also allow you to work a lot faster than handheld shears. Ficus have a latex sap that may be irritating to skin so make sure you put gloves on Cut just before a growth node so that new growth will sprout there and cover the stump. Remove a branch back to another branch that is one of its size. This will prevent unsightly stubs and restore the size and appearance of the ficus.

FICUS Ficus or Weeping Fig tree makes a beautiful houseplant but it may grow too tall and wide for the space you have for it if it is happy in its spot. It’s quite simple to prune your ficus so that it can remain in the space you have for it. Ficus plants don’t like to be moved, so the best option is to prune the plant to keep it manageable. Pruning at the right time and in the right way may also make the plant fuller and more attractive. Ficus tree pruning needs to take place when the plant is no longer actively growing. You can prune out dead material at any time during the year Prune your ficus tree after new growth stops for the best results. Most ficus trees put out new growth in spring and early summer. Late summer and early fall are good times to prune. TRIMMING First, look at the tree overall and decide what areas need to be minimized. If the tree is too tall, this is clearly where you start, but if you need to create a better silhouette, you will have to make a plan before you start cutting. Once you have decided which vegetation needs to go, the first step is to remove any dead or broken branches. This will give you an even better idea of the remaining necessary cuts. Cut at a slant away from the node or secondary branch. If you have a damaged ficus with lots of dead growth, prune away no more than one-third of the material. You can cut more off later as the plant recovers. The best time to try this sort of pruning is after the plant has started re-sprouting so you can ensure that you are not removing recovered material. In the meantime, give the tree lots of TLC and cross your fingers.

BOXWOOD Boxwood is one of the best plants for low hedges and topiary. It is slow growing, and suits a wide range of conditions. It is easy to look after, and you can trim it into almost any shape. If the weather is hot and sunny, cut in the evening or, better still, postpone. Box hedges can get a yellow edge to freshly cut leaves in hot weather, but if you cut late in the day, the wounds start to heal overnight, which reduces this yellowing. Never cut in hot sunlight as cut branches are liable to scorch and burn If tidying up a hedge which is flat sides, lay the shears against the flat side and apply a little pressure as you cut to shear close to the original shape. TIPS Only trim on fine days, when all the foliage is dried out and rain isn’t forecast Spray immediately after trimming with copper, to minimize the spread of disease in the cuts. Decide whether you need to limit the height or the width or both. Look at the form of the tree and try to prune so that the tree has a natural looking form. Look along the branches in the area you want to prune until you find a node. This is where a leaf or a twig joins the stem. Cut the branch on a slight downward slant just before a node. Cut as close to the node as you can without cutting into it. Always leave at least 1 node on a branch if you want new growth in that area. If you want to eliminate a branch so that no new growth occurs there, cut it back to just before the trunk or main limb and don’t leave a node.