Hedge cutting: answers to18 common questions

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Written by Robert Wolton. Designed and printed by statusdesign.co.ukFront cover image: Species-rich hedge.Rob Wolton/Natural England.

Prepared on behalf of the Steering Group for the UK Biodiversity Action Planfor Hedgerows

This document will help farmers and other land managers make decisionsabout how often to cut hedges. It will also help improve the wider ruralcommunity’s understanding of hedge management. In particular, thisdocument focuses on the practicalities and environmental benefits of hedgecutting every two or three years, rather than every year.

Hedge cutting:answers to 18 common questions

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Q 1. Changes in farm managementmean that hedges are being cut lessoften now. Is this a good thing or abad thing? There are two excellent reasons fornot cutting every year.

The first is that most tree and shrubflowers are produced on year-oldtwigs. Annual cutting removes thesetwigs, so there are no flowers, noberries and no nuts. This has a bigimpact on a wide range of wildlife,from insects such as butterflies andmoths, through birds such as thrushes

Hedge cut one side only.Rob Wolton/Natural England

(especially redwings and fieldfares), tomammals such as dormice. Onlyclimbing plants such as brambles androses produce good fruit crops inhedgerows that are cut every year.

The second reason is that the bigger ahedge, the more wildlife it supports.It is estimated that every year ahedgerow is left uncut it will gain twospecies of breeding bird; whilst someinsects, such as the brown hairstreakbutterfly, only lay their eggs on newgrowth. If this new growth is cut offeach autumn or winter the eggs willdie; one reason why the brownhairstreak is now so rare.

But there are exceptions. Partridges,yellowhammers and whitethroatsprefer to nest in short hedges, andbirds such as lapwing and skylarkprefer open landscapes. Hedgesshould be kept low in areas that arehome to important populations ofthese declining birds.

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very labour intensive, meaning thatfew hedgerows were trimmed everyyear. Now, with the environmentbeing high on the public agenda andwire fences making many hedgesobsolete as stock-proof barriers, lessfrequent cutting is once againappropriate for most hedges.

Q 3. Why do hedges have to becut at all?Hedges are cut to prevent themgrowing out into fields and reducingthe land available for cropping andgrazing. They are also cut to keepthem thick and bushy – this isparticularly important in livestockareas where hedgerows still act asliving fences. This thick, bushy growthis also favoured by many birds andother wildlife such as dormice.Regular cutting also prevents theshading and loss of low-growingplants such as violets and primroses.

more ragged their cut ends. Butmost hedgerow plants are able tocope with this damage remarkablywell; few die or become diseased.

Raising the cutting height a littleeach time will reduce damage tobranches, as will using a shapingsaw or sharp flail operating at therecommended speed. (A shapingsaw is a tractor-mounted cuttinghead consisting of a row of circularsaws that can cut cleanly throughthick woody material).

Hedge laying in October.Rob Wolton/Natural EnglandQ 2. It’s traditional to cut hedges

every year. Why change?Hedges have served differentpurposes down the ages, such asmarking boundaries, keeping stock inor out of fields, and as sources offirewood. Nowadays, they areincreasingly valued as wildlifehabitats and landscape features,and this means their managementis changing.

When the mechanical hedge-cuttingflail was introduced in the mid-20thcentury, the priority was to maximisefood production and to maintainstock-proof barriers. Theenvironment was not a majorconsideration. Under thosecircumstances, annual cutting wascorrect.

Before mechanisation becamewidespread, hedge cutting had been

Q 4. Will cutting my hedgerow onceevery two or three years increasecosts or save me money? Can I getany financial help?Research has shown that cuttinghedges on a two- or three-year cycleusually saves on labour andmachinery costs. Where hedgescontain mainly slow-growing speciessuch as hawthorn, savings may be ashigh as 60 per cent. Even wherefast-growing species such as ash andwillow predominate, savings arestill likely.

Allowing hedges to grow up and outmeans it’s likely there will be somedecrease in crop production due toland-take or to shading. This mayoffset the savings made fromreduced cutting, particularly onarable land. If crop losses are aserious concern, consider creatinguncropped field margins, orreducing the cutting of hedges onlyon the north sides of fields.

Financial support for both hedgeand field margin management isavailable in England through EntryLevel Stewardship or Organic EntryLevel Stewardship.

Q 5. Will cutting my hedgerow onlyonce every two or three yearsdamage it? The longer a hedge is left before it’scut, the thicker the branches will beand, if a flail mower is used, the

Sloe berries. David Townshend/Natural England

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Q 6. Will cutting less often meanthat I have to lay or coppice myhedgerows sooner?It isn’t possible to keep any hedgerowlooking exactly the same year afteryear. With time, its structure andcondition will inevitably changebecause it contains trees and shrubswhose growth forms change as theymature. Sooner or later all hedgerowswill have to be laid or coppiced,unless they are being allowed to turninto lines of trees. Cutting will onlydelay this process. During the firsttwo or three years after a newhedgerow has been planted, laid orcoppiced, it may be a good idea tocut every year to ensure thedevelopment of bushy growth lowdown in the hedge. Otherwise, there’sno reason why cutting every two or

three years should shorten the timebefore laying or coppicing is needed.In fact, the evidence suggests theopposite – for hawthorn hedges,cutting every few years rather thanevery year leads to denser hedgerows.

Q 7. How can I respond tocomplaints that hedges with threeyears’ growth look untidy, andthat cutting them leaves anunsightly mess? It may be helpful to explain thatmodern farming is not just aboutfood production, but also aboutproducing environmental benefits,such as creating wildlife habitatsand attractive landscapes. Let yourquestioner know that you arefollowing government advice tomanage your hedges in this way.

Shaping saw up-close. Rob Wolton/Natural England

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Q 11. Will there be a lot of thorns onthe ground if a hedge with severalyears’ growth is cut back? Couldthese cause punctures or lameness?Even annual cutting can result inthorns in fields, or on tracks androads, but this problem will begreater with older growth. The tyresof motor vehicles are rarelypunctured, but there is a real risk tobicycles. Blackthorn in particular cancause lameness in livestock, so it isadvisable to keep stock and bicyclesaway from hedges that have beenrecently cut. Thorns break down in

Q 10. Will there be a lot of tidyingup to do after cutting a hedge withtwo or three years’ growth?If a flail mower is used, and care istaken, experience shows that there isusually little tidying up that needs tobe done. The flails will break theshoots and branches up into smallbits, many of which will fall tothe base of the hedge and decaythere. If the shoots are long, it maybe necessary to cut them in twopasses rather than one, but normallyit will be better just to go forwardmore slowly.

Redwing in hawthorn hedge. Chris Gomersall/RSPBImages.com

Hedge cut after five years’ growth. Rob Wolton/Natural England

If you can, give evidence of howlocal wildlife has responded – suchas pointing out a greater varietyand/or abundance of birdlife. Thismay help to convince people thatyou are doing the right thing.

Q 8. Isn't flailing a mature hedgebad for it because there are so manybashed and broken stems?On balance it is better for wildlife,and better for the hedge itself, to cutonce every few years rather thanevery year. The cut ends may lookunpleasant for a while but this ismore than outweighed by thebenefits to wildlife.

Q 9. Will cutting three-year-oldgrowth damage my flail?Providing your cutting head and flailsare well maintained, and you areusing the right rotor and forward

speeds, there should be no problem.But you are likely to need to takemore time over the hedge, with morepasses and a slower forward speed.

Standard flails are designed to cutgrowth up to 38 mm thick, so cuttingmost three-year-old growth isunlikely to be a problem, even withprolonged use. Even in fertile areas,three-year-old hawthorn, hazel andoak shoots and branches are onlybetween 15 and 20 mm thick.

The shoots of fast-growing speciessuch as willow and ash may be 40mm or more thick after three years, inwhich case heavier duty flails andmore powerful cutting heads will berequired. Flails are available on themarket that will cut hedge growth upto 100 mm thick. Alternatively, use ashaping saw (see Q 5).

wet weather fairly quickly, and alongroads and tracks motor vehicles sooncrush them, so the risk is usuallyacceptable after a few weeks.

Q 12. What time of year should I cut?What’s the law, and how can I avoidharming nesting birds? As a general rule, try and cut most ofyour hedgerows in January orFebruary. If ground conditions andcropping patterns make this difficult,then cut as late as possible in theautumn. Cutting in winter means thatwildlife will have the time to takeadvantage of the nuts and berriesproduced by hedge plants in theautumn. The bird breeding season,1 March to 31 July, should always beavoided: nearly every hedgerow in thecountry will have birds breeding in it

during this time. Some birds continuebreeding into August. All wild birds,their young, their eggs and activenests are protected under law. It is anoffence to damage a nestintentionally while it is in use or beingbuilt – hedge cutting is highly likely todamage nests or cause them to bedeserted.

For many moths and some butterflies,cutting in August or September isbetter than cutting later – probablybecause winter cutting removes eggslaid on new growth in the autumn.

So, if you have to cut most of yourhedges in one particular year (notitself recommended), cut a few inAugust or September, leaving the majority until as late as possible.

Whenever there is a significant riskto the health and safety of people,hedgerows should be cut asnecessary to reduce that risk.See Q 18.

If you are a Single Payment Schemeclaimant in England, it is a conditionthat you should not cut between1 March and 31 July, with certainexceptions.

Q 13. Why do farmers sometimescut their hedges in the late summeror autumn and not wait until thewinter, after the birds have eatenall the berries?There are various reasons whyfarmers cut their hedges before thelate winter. Sometimes it’s becausethe land gets too soft for tractors inthe winter, and their use would createruts or compact the soil. In arableareas, it’s often because tractorswould damage winter-sown cerealsor other crops – a working width ofsome 5 m is required for hedgecutting around these fields.

For some farmers, it’s because theyor their contractors have the time inhand in the autumn, between thebusy peaks of bringing in the harvestand winter sowing, or looking afterhoused cattle. For others, cutting thehedges after the harvest is simply amatter of tradition, part of theseasonal cycle that characterises thefarmer’s way of life.

Q 14. What should I do if I see ahedge being cut in the birdnesting season?There may be a valid reason why thehedge is being cut, for example tomaintain road safety. If not, thechances are that the personsresponsible are not aware of the riskto wildlife, or of the concern they arecausing to others. With this in mind,the best approach is nearly always totalk to them, explain why you areconcerned, and to listen to theirreasons. Then, if appropriate, youcan explain the law as youunderstand it and present anyrelevant facts you may have (like the

Devon cattle sheltering by hedge. Rob Wolton/Natural England

Young hedgerow beech tree.Rob Wolton/Natural England

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presence of active bird nests).This way of doing things is likely toresult in a better outcome for you, forthe land manager, and for wildlife. It’salmost always better to do this ratherthan immediately contact the police.

Q 15. Should I cut all my hedges inone year, or cut on a rotationalbasis, trimming only a proportioneach year?Try not to cut all your hedges in anyone year. This will ensure that there isalways suitable habitat on your farmfor wildlife that relies on uncut hedges.If your farm is small and you don’thave many hedges, then it may bepossible to come to an agreement withyour neighbours so that, together, youensure that there are always uncuthedges in the area.

Q 16. Should I treat all hedges onmy farm the same way, or should I gofor variety?Different wildlife likes different sizesand shapes of hedge, so try and createas much variety as possible. Overall,favour large, dense, infrequently cuthedgerows.

As a general rule, the wider and taller ahedgerow is, the more wildlife it has,so try and manage most of yourhedges so they become as big aspossible. Dormice and turtle doves,for example, need big hedgerows,preferably at least 4 m high. But keepsome hedges short (less than 2 m high)

for birds such as yellowhammers,linnets, whitethroats and partridges;and where surrounding land is used bybreeding waders such as lapwing,snipe and redshank.

Variety in hedgerow shape is alsogood. ‘A-shaped’ hedges may suitthe widest range of breeding birds(although the jury is still out on this),but box-shaped ones (with narrowerbases than A-shapes) may be better forplants growing on the groundor bank.

Let some hedgerows grow up, either tobecome lines of trees, or to reach theright condition for laying or coppicing,or for cutting back with a shaping saw(see Q 5). This will add diversity.

Q 17. Why do farmers not leave moresaplings to become hedgerow trees?Hedgerow trees can cost a farmermoney and provide little, if any,income. The costs of hedge cuttingmay be increased substantially by theextra time and effort needed to avoidtrees growing in hedgerows. They canalso shade out crops and grass, socausing further economic loss. In somecases, a hedgerow tree will shade outthe hedgerow plants that surround it,so creating gaps. Some trees may alsorequire expensive surgery to reducethe risk they pose to vehicles andpeople. Others may obstruct farmmachinery and overhead telephoneand power lines. Tr

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The fact that there are so manyhedgerow trees left, and that somenew ones are being planted or left togrow on, is proof that many farmersare prepared to look after theenvironment, even where it coststhem money. There is currently verylittle financial assistance available toplant or maintain hedgerow trees.

Q 18. What should I do about hedgesalongside roads, and where there arevisibility and safety issues?Land owners and occupiers arerequired by law to trim any hedgenext to a road, footway, cycleway orpublic right of way where the growthis preventing the passage, or affectingthe safety, of the highway user,including cyclists and pedestrians.

The debris from cutting must also becleared away. Often it will be safe tolimit annual or early cutting to placeswhere the verge is narrow, tojunctions and entrances, and to theinside of bends. Even here, it isusually only necessary to trim thenear-side, leaving the top and far-sideto grow on.

If you do need to cut a hedgerowevery year, try and avoid cutting thegrass and other plants at the baseeach time, particularly in the autumn.Instead, cut this vegetation once everytwo or three years. The majority ofinsects and other invertebrates thatlive in hedgerows overwinter in theirbases and will be harmed by thecutting of this low-growing vegetation.

Primrose on hedgebank. Rob Wolton/Natural England