Trimming hedges... have I left it too late?!

AdRock

Hi,

I need to trim a few hedges... some mixed with hawthorn and ivy which are a bit of a mess (I'll try and leave some ivy for the bees!) and also a conifer hedge. The RHS advice is to not prune conifer after August but I'm sure my neighbour does his this time of year.

Thanks in advance

Perki

Trim away

fidgetbones

You can heavily trim hawthorn or ivy any time between now and March.  Which conifer is it? Some don't like winter pruning, they go brown at the cuts.

glasgowdan

I trim all sorts of hedges 12 months a year. You need to be VERY selective when choosing which RHS advice to believe. 

Conifers I'll trim in a frost as long as it's not a prolonged sub zero weather spell. Never an issue in the years I've been doing this. 

Hostafan1

I'm with @glasgowdan. 
Technically , there may be an ideal time, but for most of us, we have to do stuff when we have the time, inclination and opportunity. 

Fairygirl

I'd agree too. My dad used to panic about it but when I cut his for him - they got done when I could manage.
Conifers are only tricky if people hack into them - but they often do that whatever the weather conditions.
As @glasgowdan, it's only a problem if you have several really hard days.

AdRock

Thanks for all the advice, I’ll get trimming! 

Loxley

On the same subject I planted some bare root box last week; I couldn't resist snipping them back a bit to tidy them up. Do you think they'll be okay?

glasgowdan

WillDB said:

On the same subject I planted some bare root box last week; I couldn't resist snipping them back a bit to tidy them up. Do you think they'll be okay?

Yes

glasgowdan

Hexagon said:

On a similar subject, is it too late to overseed a lawn? Gonna rain soon so I thought I’d get aerating and overseeding now that I’ve stopped trampling all over the lawn to plant up the borders.

Seed won't do much if you sow it now so it's a bit of a waste. Scarifying will also leave the lawn looking bare all winter. Aim for March/April