When is it safe (for birds) to cut down laurel hedges?
I have just moved to a garden where the previous owner clearly adored evergreen hedges! You can’t see the garden at all from the house, due to the many stretches of laurel hedging. I intend to remove some of the hedges, to improve the garden for humans and wildlife alike, but do birds nest in laurels? If so, when’s the best time to cut the hedge down? I’ve examined the shrubs closely, and can’t see any old nests in the hedges, but I’d hate to destroy ideal nesting sites. There are a LOT of trees, shrubs and hedges which will be kept, so can I go ahead with wielding my chainsaw?
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Good luck with digging out the roots. And I hope you aren’t planning to burn the logs - it’s like trying to burn a stone.😁
I wouldn’t cut mine down for anything, lovely waterproof evergreen winter shelter for the birds. Although if they’ve grown in the middle of garden, that’s not so good!
You can prune them very hard if they’re intruding into the garden, they will grow again with beautiful fresh leaves. I’ve cut some right down to the ground and they’ve grown back just fine.
People don't seem to realise when they plant these shrubs as little sticks, that they re going to grow into trunks, I’ve seen them planted so close together, they’ll touch in a few years.
silly planting them in the middle of a garden, but for the edges I love them, just for the privacy and all year round bird protection.