“What the ….?” Can you tell what’s wrong with this picture? This cedar (Thuja occidentalis ‘Smaragd’) hedge has been pruned incredibly harshly. Upon seeing it for the first time you wonder what happened. Sadly, the neighbouring hedges, immobile as they are, didn’t escape either.
One bad decision
It wasn’t until much later that I found out what happened. Allegedly, the pruning happened with one worker pruning the front and the other pruning the back. Simultaneously. That wasn’t the best decision.
Tandem pruning is a bad idea. For best results, pick your hedge and do it all yourself. As for cedars, one worker siding and the other topping is an acceptable method.
Other considerations
Sometimes accidents happen when people start snipping and talking. As one worker approaches from the left and the other from the right, inevitably the sides don’t match. Then corrections are in order.
Therefore, it’s always preferable to do your own hedge by hand or with power shears. You can also extend this rule to complete areas, such as courtyards. When one worker does the pruning, it looks consistent throughout.
Whenever you are training new workers, get them to shear the lower profile hedge sides. Do the tops yourself. For the moment. Eventually, all new workers will have to face their fears as they shoot for mastery.
Safety is also a consideration. Having two sets of sharp power shears operating in close proximity on one hedge is suspicious.
Proper hedge look
Whatever happens, your cedar hedge should look green when you finish. We don’t want to see any browning. Green is mandatory!
If you want to achieve the correct cedar hedge profile, start shearing from the bottom up. Usually, the bottom parts always look shaggier as you finish harder towards the top. As for the tops, they are always hit much harder since it gives us a beautiful laser line up top.
Some companies like to round out the bottom parts of the hedge for a neat look. Personally, I disagree. As climate change brings more and more heat waves, leaving the bottom slightly shaggy protects the roots from direct sunlight.
Time heals
The residents at this particular site were horrified when they saw their cedars after pruning. And it’s hardly surprising. Luckily, this blog post has a happy ending. Since the people responsible for this harsh pruning job have been banned from touching them, the hedges have rebounded. It’s very likely that they will be lightly sheared this winter after a two-year break.
Remember, our West Coast cedar hedges get sheared once a year. Some clients and companies insist on doing them twice a year.
Practice, practice, practice and shoot for mastery.
