Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Aug 05, 2013 9:47 am Hi all, I've been getting mixed advice from a few people regarding whether my hedges need trimming, so I would really appreciate some views here. The first 2 pictures are the hedges at the front and some told me that I should cut it all the way down now (half the size) to promote growth over spring, while some tells me to leave it till mid summer. The 3rd picture is the hedge on the side. I'm favouring cutting it back, but not entirely sure how much to cut. I'm also planning to apply some blood & bone soon. Any advice on how or when to trim will be very much appreciated. Also, the grass is coming over to the boundary. We try to cut the grass on the boundary but apart from that, are there any other ways to manage that? Someone suggested to us to have a short retaining wall put up. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Next set of questions relate to the picture below. As you can see, there are a lot of weeds under the buxus and I'm planning to remove it. However, removing it will leave a gap and doing nothing about it will just see another spurt of weeds coming out. What's the best way to handle the gap once the weed has been removed? I'm thinking of putting a mulch over it? You can also see the balcony from the picture, which currently have a lonely pot sitting on it. The balcony is quite small, 3m by 0.8m and the door opens forward, hence, difficult to put a large pot outside. It's also getting the full afternoon sun all year round. We are thinking of putting some oblong boxes but not entirely sure what plants will look good or do well there. Any advice? Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Thanks everyone. Re: Hedge & balcony advice 2Aug 06, 2013 2:03 pm Hi XYA, I do not know where you live but here in Perth we cut and prune all our plants every two weeks.I noticed on your hedge some of the stems are a bit ragged,if you go down to a lower node and make a straight cut a quarter of an inch above it you will find that it will throw out between two and five new stems within two weeks.As these new stems grow you will notice that the gap between the nodes is a lot smaller than the gaps on the rest of the plant.Also as these new stems get at least three sets of leaves cut them back in the same way and they throw out multiples. The reason we do this is you get far more foliage and when you clip because the nodes are so close together if forms a perfect skin and you do not have big white eyes glaring out at you because there is no wood as such in the hedge. Go into Youtube,type in Easy Topiary and there are 4 video clips put on by Fu and you will see what I mean by a "skin"Regards Topiarius Re: Hedge & balcony advice 3Aug 06, 2013 10:03 pm Hi Topiarius, Thanks for the advice. I saw the Youtube videos the other day, it looked easy but I didn't have the confidence to attempt it myself.. ha. Yeah, the hedges I have seemed to have quite a few long stems running. I assume cutting the hedges back down wouldn't really harm the plant in any way? I'm based in Sydney, so I presume I can start pruning now? I've also started pulling out the weeds from under my buxus hedge, and hope to put some mulch over it once all the weeding is done. Am I on the right track? Sorry, I'm not a very experienced gardener Re: Hedge & balcony advice 4Aug 06, 2013 10:38 pm xya Thanks for the advice. I saw the Youtube videos the other day, it looked easy but I didn't have the confidence to attempt it myself.. ha. I reckon sometimes you do more damage not pruning than having a go. I've been randomly chopping away for years and in most cases the result hasn't been too bad. My biggest problem is the shrubs I didn't start pruning early enough because I wanted them to get tall in a hurry so I only started pruning when they were 'tall enough'. The tops are nice n dense and the bottoms are too leggy I think is the word. So what I'm saying is have a go! I'm going to check out those videos. Oh and the grass and weeds, yeah, mulch the garden beds and put a mowing strip between between the garden beds and lawn. Re: Hedge & balcony advice 5Aug 07, 2013 3:03 pm Hi Jazzy Jess, if you are a bit worried about clipping the best thing to do is pick a couple of leggy branches of a hedge,make a straight cut on the third node up from the ground and then wait for a result and then you see what happens and you can then go from there.One thing to remember is that even if you make a mistake in Topiary you will still end up with a better plant than you started with!! Best of luck, Topiarius Re: Hedge & balcony advice 7Aug 09, 2013 2:43 pm Hi XYA,After you have clipped your hedge go back and study the top.You will find that some of the stems have long tops with no nodes.Cut them back on a node and they will grow back quicker.You will only have to do this once or twice and because the nodes are closer together each time you cut, the foliage is that thick that after clipping, the top of the hedge is like a sheet of porcelain and always look perfect. Have fun, Topiarius!!! Re: Hedge & balcony advice 8Aug 12, 2013 6:56 pm topiarius Hi Jazzy Jess, if you are a bit worried about clipping the best thing to do is pick a couple of leggy branches of a hedge,make a straight cut on the third node up from the ground and then wait for a result and then you see what happens and you can then go from there.One thing to remember is that even if you make a mistake in Topiary you will still end up with a better plant than you started with!! Best of luck, Topiarius Thank you Topiarius. Hi xya. Why do you want to grow something on the balcony, to provide some privacy or to provide more visual interest or what? It's going to be a challenge to find plants that grow happily in pots in such an exposed location copping the afternoon sun. What about succulents perhaps? Re: Hedge & balcony advice 9Aug 12, 2013 9:56 pm Thanks for all the advice. I have finally given my hedge a hair cut on the weekend and put some fertilisers. Fingers crossed I'm shaping it the right way. JazzyJess, initially I wanted to have some screening but after talking to some people, it seems an almost impossible task to grow screening plants on narrow planter boxes. Hence, probably looking at something visual instead. Did think of succulents but thought they might be quite small when seen from below? Re: Hedge & balcony advice 11Aug 14, 2013 5:58 pm Hi Topiarius, I can only put narrow planter boxes on that balcony, otherwise, I can't open the doors to it, unfortunately. Would certainly be nice to have some fruit trees. Currently, going with the idea of perhaps some lavender on planter boxes. They should do OK under afternoon sun. Re: Hedge & balcony advice 12Aug 16, 2013 2:43 pm Hi XYA,we have a veranda the front of our house and across the low wall we have 10 window boxes.On the front side of each box we planted Allysum which hangs down over the wall,in the middlestrip of each box we put a row of Friesies and to the back we planted Geraniums and it makes a great display. Topiarius Re: Hedge & balcony advice 13Aug 16, 2013 8:32 pm xya Did think of succulents but thought they might be quite small when seen from below? Sorry, can't really help. I'm just getting into growing them myself so I'm not familiar with the varieties but I've seen pics of very cool pots with succulents cascading over the sides. First time building 2 storey home in NSW. Below Current plan have separate balcony. But thinking to do a multipurpose lounge with balcony (kind of sunroom) in first floor… 0 4998 Well you won't get cooked by the afternoon sun when sitting out on the balcony on a summers afternoon but you won't have much to look at besides the neighbours… 4 4007 Dear all, Requesting your help in relation to a CDC code. We are building a new home in NSW on a corner lot (500m2, 15m wide) following Greenfield CDC code. Our design… 0 6491 |