Hedge trimming in Markham for cedars, privacy hedges and bushes

Most hedges don’t get out of hand in one year. They creep, a bit wider each summer, until the cedars are brushing your car door or hanging over the sidewalk.

A good trim brings the hedge back to a shape you can live with and keeps it green down to the ground.

Usually when it’s blocking something or has grown past what you can reach:

• A cedar hedge that has grown over the walkway or the edge of the driveway.
• A privacy hedge that’s now taller than anyone can reach from a ladder.
• Bushes in the front garden covering a window, a basement vent or the house number.
• Shrubs planted too close to the house that are now rubbing the siding.

Big ones too: one of our Google reviews describes a bush “approximately 5 m high and 2 m wide”.

1. We walk the hedge with you and agree on the height and width. If that means cutting past the green, we tell you first.
2. We check for active bird nests, especially in spring and summer.
3. We trim the sides from the bottom up, then set the top with a line so it comes out level.
4. We leave it slightly narrower at the top than at the base. Penn State Extension recommends this so sunlight reaches the lower branches, and Iowa State University Extension notes it holds less snow.
5. We cut shrubs in the beds back off paths, windows and walls, and take out dead branches we can reach.
6. We rake the clippings out of the beds and clean off the lawn, driveway and walkways.

Cedar (arborvitae) hedges, common all over Markham and the GTA, grow new shoots from the green parts of the branches. Penn State Extension says that apart from yews, cutting back to only brown wood won’t make that branch grow again.

Cut too far and the brown hole may stay for good. So we trim in the green and bring an overgrown hedge back gradually, over more than one season.

Mostly the size of the hedge and how long it’s been since the last trim, so we quote each one after seeing it.

A tall top means ladder work, which is slower. A hedge left three or four years takes far longer than one trimmed every year. A fence, a slope or a neighbour’s yard on the far side also adds time.

For cedars, late spring to early summer, once the new growth has filled out, with a light touch-up in summer. The University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension says to shear then, or in spring before growth starts.

Scroll sideways to see the whole table.

Our guide on when to trim hedges and shrubs in Ontario goes plant by plant. When to prune shrubs in Ontario covers hydrangeas, lilacs and spirea, and the fall cleanup checklist explains why the shears stay away in autumn.

Trimming season is also nesting season. Environment and Climate Change Canada’s nesting calendar puts it at early April to late August for zone C2, which takes in Markham. Under the Migratory Birds Regulations, a nest with a live bird or viable egg in it is protected, so we check before we cut.

If parts of the hedge have already gone brown, see why your cedar hedge is turning brown to work out the cause and what will grow back.

Keep a layer of mulch over the roots, held a little back from the stems. Our mulch guide explains how much. In winter, brush heavy snow off the top before it bends the branches apart.

A short, low hedge is a fine weekend job with shears and a string line. Once it’s taller than you can reach from the ground, or needs careful shaping after a few years, power trimmers on tall ladders get risky.

Hedge work also fits well alongside a spring or fall cleanup or fresh mulch in the garden beds. You can see a tidied yard on our sod, edging and mulch project.

We work across Markham and nearby, including Richmond Hill, Thornhill and Stouffville.

The easiest way to start is to text a photo of the hedge to (437) 684-2535 with your street or postal code. We’ll arrange a time to look and give you a free quote.

• The hedge is pushing onto the sidewalk or driveway
• Shrubs are touching the siding, windows or eavestroughs
• The top is too tall to reach safely from a step ladder
• The hedge is wide and full at the top but thin and bare at the bottom
• Long shoots sticking out after a season without a trim
• Bushes covering the front walk light, house number or a basement window