Hedge Trimming Services
Cedar, laurel and boxwood want different things at different times
No pile of clippings left for you to deal with
BC Landscape and Nursery Association standards
Twelve cities across the Lower Mainland
The Hedges We Actually Cut in BC
Cedar
The default hedge in this province and the least forgiving. Cedar will not regrow from bare brown wood, so once a hedge is cut back past the green it stays bare. Kept in shape it lasts decades.
Laurel
Fast, vigorous and happy to be cut hard. Large leaves look ragged if sheared, so the good finish comes from cutting stems rather than running a trimmer over the surface.
Boxwood
Slow, dense and worth the fuss. Small leaves take a shear beautifully, which is why boxwood holds a crisp edge better than anything else in a Lower Mainland garden.
Mixed shrubs
Flowering shrubs are cut by when they set their buds rather than by the calendar. Cut the wrong one in the wrong month and you remove next year's flowers.
Hedge Trimming and Pruning Are Different Jobs
- Trim only, for years and the middle goes bare because no light reaches it
- Prune without trimming and it never holds a tidy line
- Both, on the right cycle, and a hedge stays dense from the ground up
When a Hedge Should Be Cut
- Late spring, once the first flush has hardened off. The main cut for most hedges
- Late summer or early autumn, a tidy up cut that holds the shape through winter
- Dormant season, for hard renovation pruning on species that tolerate it
- Avoid deep cold and hard frost, when cut edges will not heal
What a Hedge Trimming Visit Includes
- Hedges cut to an agreed height, width and line
- Tops levelled and faces kept plumb rather than tapering in
- Shrubs shaped by species rather than sheared flat
- Dead, crossing and diseased wood taken out
- Cut edges left clean so they heal rather than tear
- Beds and paths cleared of clippings afterwards
- All green waste hauled away and disposed of
- Anything we spot on the property flagged before we leave
Where We Trim Hedges
Hedge Trimming Questions
It goes on the length and height of the hedge, the species, and how far it has got past where you want it. A maintained cedar run and an overgrown laurel that has not been touched in five years are different jobs. We measure it and quote in writing.
Most hedges here want cutting twice a year, with fast species like laurel sometimes wanting three. Boxwood prefers lighter cuts more often. A hedge cut once a year drifts wider and taller each season.
Only within the green. Cedar does not regrow from bare brown wood, so cutting past that line leaves a permanent gap. If a cedar hedge has outgrown its space we will tell you honestly what can be recovered and what cannot.
Yes, always. Everything we cut leaves with us and is disposed of properly. The haul away is in the quoted price rather than added on afterwards.
Usually, and it is one of the more common requests. How much comes off in one go depends on the species. Some tolerate a hard reduction, others want it done over two seasons so the plant recovers.
We check before cutting. If there is an active nest we leave that section and come back, rather than cutting around it and hoping.
Yes. Shaped shrubs and topiary are cut by hand with shears rather than run over with a powered trimmer, which is the only way to keep a clean line on a rounded form.
Yes, on scheduled programmes so the cut lands at the right point in the season every year rather than whenever it gets noticed.