Bush Trimming is a Game Changer
Trimming your bushes keeps your yard looking neat and in shape all year long. Everyone knows the importance of services like lawn mowing or raking, but bush trimming is just as important for maintaining a healthy yard. By removing damaged plant matter and containing unruly growth, you can improve the quality of your bushes and every other green thing on your property!
Why Bush Trimming Matters
The bushes and shrubbery featured in your yard need the same kind of attention as your lawn or any other plants. Bushes tend to become focal points of landscapes, so keeping them in good health is just as important as making them look presentable.
Though we often use the term “trimming” to refer to any cutting back of shrubbery, this term technically refers to the process of lining up bushes and making them look tidy, while “pruning” typically refers to the removal of dead, diseased, and damaged branches for health purposes.
Curb Appeal
Having some healthy shrubbery on your property gives your yard a burst of life that many flat, featureless yards lack. By trimming and pruning bushes, you can improve the appearance of these plants while simultaneously making them healthier! There are a few different types of plants you may have in your yard that require regular trimming, and each has its own cosmetic benefit that will increase the value of your home if maintained properly.
- Bushes – Though most people use “bush” and “shrub” interchangeably, if there is a difference, it is that bushes are a bit smaller and less dense with vegetation. Bushes usually require less attention and are frequently trimmed to prevent overgrowth.
- Shrubs – These are dense plants that grow low to the ground, but they are generally taller than what would be considered a bush. Shrubs can be more easily shaped and typically get more selective pruning than bushes.
- Hedges – If you ever see a line of shrubbery creating a perfect border around a property, those are hedges. Hedges are used around property lines and are usually taller and more dense than other bushes or shrubs, making them perfect for a natural privacy fence.
- Trees – Bushes, shrubs, and hedges all grow from multiple stems, none of which are dominant. Trees differ because they grow from a dominant stem (the trunk), and they grow taller than other shrubbery. While evergreen trees can resemble tall hedges, trees of all kinds need regular trimming and pruning to look healthy and attractive.
Plant Health
Your bushes and shrubs are never going to look great if you are not focused on the health of the plants. Pruning/trimming removes sick and damaged plant matter from bushes before the issues spread or worsen. Leaves and twigs stricken by a fungal infection will spread the disease if the infected plant matter is not removed.
Bushes that are allowed to grow wildly without any maintenance often develop infections that go unnoticed until it is too late. By the time you notice large bare spots and struggling vegetation on the surface of your bushes, a fungal disease will be much harder to remedy. The best way to keep your bushes healthy is to regularly trim them and remove damaged twigs and sick-looking leaves as soon as they are spotted.
New Growth
Promoting new, healthy plant growth can be easily achieved through proper pruning and trimming techniques. As sick and weak branches get removed, new space opens up for healthy growth to take place. There are even different methods of pruning that allow you to train and control new growth, especially when performed on younger bushes.
- Pinching – Remove buds by simply pinching them off branches to encourage lateral branch growth.
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Heading – Remove buds by cutting a branch at an angle, ¼ of an inch above the branch bud, until only outward-facing buds are left for attractive and even growth.
- Thinning – Remove branches by cutting them just outside of the branch collar, but leave the terminal bud intact for more free growth that does not affect the size or shape of the bush.
Pest Control
Trimming your bushes is not performed to keep bugs away from your yard, but it sure is a great benefit! Unruly bushes that have gone neglected, like any plants, will start to wither, weaken, and open themselves up to all kinds of issues. Pests are attracted to unhealthy vegetation, meaning that you are inviting bugs to your yard when you ignore your bushes’ trimming needs. Many bugs enjoy the protection they get from overgrown and dense bushes, and they will not leave if measures are not taken.
Bush trimming increases airflow and sunlight throughout the bush, which creates an overall healthier plant that can withstand and deter a pest invasion. As you start to give your bushes a little more attention, you will likely notice a decline in the amount of insects and other bugs in your yard.
Healthier Lawn
You may have never even considered the possibility that trimming shrubbery can improve your lawn, but the extra sunlight and improved plant health in your yard can actually help your grass thrive. Tall ornamental trees or hedges around your property can block vital sunlight from reaching your turf, leading to struggling patches of grass that can not properly grow in shaded conditions. Diseased leaves falling onto your lawn from an infected tree or bush will spread that disease to your lawn. Trimming your bushes and other plants will keep the sun shining on your grass and prevent diseased plant matter from infecting your lawn.
Safer Conditions
You may have never even considered the possibility that trimming shrubbery can improve your lawn, but the extra sunlight and improved plant health in your yard can actually help your grass thrive. Tall ornamental trees or hedges around your property can block vital sunlight from reaching your turf, leading to struggling patches of grass that can not properly grow in shaded conditions. Diseased leaves falling onto your lawn from an infected tree or bush will spread that disease to your lawn. Trimming your bushes and other plants will keep the sun shining on your grass and prevent diseased plant matter from infecting your lawn.
Professional Bush Trimming vs. DIY
Bush trimming is perhaps the most dangerous landscaping task. Taller shrubs, hedges, and ornamental trees require landscapers to climb ladders while operating razor-sharp equipment, making DIY trimming a bad idea for the landscaping novice. Simple handheld tools like pruning shears or pole saws can be dangerous enough, but truly overgrown bushes require bulky electric trimmers that should only be in the hands of capable professionals. One mistake while bush trimming can lead to branches falling onto someone’s head, loss of an appendage, or worse.
Aside from the bodily injury one risks when trimming bushes, improper trimming methods will injure your shrubbery. If you trim/prune too early into a bush’s peak growing season, the plant will not be able to achieve its maximum growth. Trimming bushes while they are dormant in winter is also beneficial when done correctly, but inexperience can lead to improper cuts that will hinder healthy growth during the following growing season.
Bush trimming is essential to the health of your yard and the safety of everyone near. A professional service will have equipment and experience that the average DIYer will likely not possess. For the easiest and best results, a professional bush trimming service is the way to go!
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