Cedar Hedge Care: A Year-Round Guide for Ottawa

Spring (April to June)

Spring is for checking damage and getting the hedge ready to grow:

• Look the hedge over once the snow is gone. Some brown on the sun-facing side is common after a hard winter; wait for new growth before judging it.
• Gently knock off or tie up any branches that were bent open by snow.
• If growth was weak last year, feed in early spring with a slow-release fertilizer made for evergreens. Established, healthy hedges often need none.
• Refresh mulch to 2 to 3 inches over the root zone, kept a few inches back from the trunks.

Summer (June to August)

Water is the whole job in summer. New hedges need a deep soak about once a week, more in hot, dry spells. Deep and infrequent beats a daily sprinkle, because it pulls the roots down where the soil stays cool and moist.

Established hedges usually manage on rainfall, but water them too during a drought. A cedar that dries out in August often shows the damage the following spring.

Trimming: once a year, the right way

Trim a cedar hedge once a year, around the same time each year, any time between late April and late October when there is no frost or risk of frost. Yearly trimming keeps the hedge's footprint and height under control and lets more light reach the sides, which is what makes it dense.

The rule that matters most: never cut back into bare brown wood. Cedars do not grow back from old wood, so over-trimming leaves holes that may never fill. Shape the hedge slightly narrower at the top than the bottom so light reaches the lower branches. This is exactly the kind of damage our hedge trimming crews are trained to avoid.

Fall (September to freeze-up)

Give the hedge a long, deep watering before the ground freezes. Evergreens keep losing moisture through their foliage all winter, and a hedge that goes into winter dry is the one that browns in March.

Expect some inner, older foliage to turn yellow and drop in the fall. That is normal seasonal shedding, not disease.

Winter

Winter damage is the most common reason Ottawa hedges look rough in spring:

• Brush heavy, wet snow off before it freezes and splays the branches open.
• For young or exposed hedges, loosely tie the branches with soft twine for the first few winters.
• On hedges beside a road or driveway, a burlap screen on the salt side helps prevent salt burn.
• Do not wrap cedars tightly in plastic. They need air.

When a hedge needs more than care

If a hedge is thinning year after year despite good care, it may need its roots fed directly. Hedge King's deep root fertilizing puts liquid feed into the root zone of weak hedges and trees. And when a hedge is past saving, hedge replacement removes it and plants new cedars in one job.

If the problem is browning, see why cedar hedges turn brown.