Hedge and Shrub Trimming in Framingham

Hedges and shrubs grow slower than trees, so it is easy to let them go. Then one day the yews cover half the front windows, the arborvitae hedge is 16 feet tall, and the rhododendron blocks the walk. We trim hedges and shrubs on their own or as part of a tree visit, and we can bring back plantings that have gotten away from you.

The shrubs we see most in Framingham

• Arborvitae. The standard privacy hedge. Trim lightly and often. Arborvitae will not grow back from bare brown wood, so cutting deep into the inside leaves a dead spot for good. Deer browse them hard in winter, too.
• Yews. Very forgiving. Yews regrow from old wood, so an overgrown yew can be cut way back and will fill in over a season or two.
• Privet. Fast growing. It needs two or three shearings a year to stay tight, and it takes a hard cut-back well.
• Rhododendron. Prune right after it blooms in late spring. Cut later and you remove next year's flower buds.
• Burning bush. Common in older foundation plantings. It is on the Massachusetts prohibited plant list as an invasive, so many people choose to take it out rather than keep shaping it.

Overgrown foundation plantings

A lot of houses in Framingham Centre, Coburnville and the post-war neighborhoods off Route 9 still have the yews and junipers planted when the house was built. Forty or fifty years later they are tall, wide and pushing against the siding. They hold moisture against the house and block light from the windows.

We have two ways to handle these. A hard renewal cut takes shrubs like yew and privet way down and lets them regrow, which looks rough for a season and then fills in. For shrubs that will not take that kind of cut, or ones that are just too far gone, we pull them out so you can replant. We can grind out the stumps of large shrubs the same way we grind tree stumps.

When to trim

For most hedges, the main shearing goes in late spring or early summer, once the new growth has come out and started to firm up. A second light trim in midsummer keeps fast growers like privet tight. Avoid heavy trimming after late August. New growth that comes out in the fall does not harden before frost and gets burned back over the winter.

Flowering shrubs follow their bloom. Shrubs that flower in spring, like rhododendron, lilac and forsythia, get pruned right after they finish. Hard renewal cuts on yews and privet do best in late winter or early spring, before growth starts. Our pruning calendar covers trees as well.

Shape and shearing

A hedge should be a little wider at the bottom than at the top. If the top is wider, it shades the lower branches, and they thin out and die back. Most of the bare-bottomed hedges we see got that way from years of shearing straight sides or a wide top. We fix that shape over a couple of trims.

Cleanup and pairing with tree work

All clippings get raked out of the beds, blown off the walks and hauled away. Many customers add hedge work to a tree trimming visit, since the crew and chipper are already on site. If a shrub bed has turned into a thicket of brush and vines, our brush removal service is the better fit.

Common Questions

Can you cut my arborvitae hedge shorter?

Yes. We can lower the top of an arborvitae hedge. The sides are trickier, since arborvitae does not regrow from bare wood, so we only take the sides back as far as there is green growth.

How often should hedges be trimmed?

Most hedges need one or two trims a year. Fast growers like privet may need three to stay tight.

Can overgrown yews be saved?

Usually, yes. Yews take a hard cut back very well and fill in again over a season or two. It looks bare for a while, then thickens up.

Do you remove old shrubs?

Yes. We cut out old or overgrown shrubs and can grind out the stumps so you have a clean bed for new plantings.