Shrubs, hedges, and shrubs can grow very quickly in Tacoma, WA, leaving homeowners wondering how to tame them without killing the plants. Over the years running Tacoma Tree Service, our team has answered many questions about keeping landscaping under control in the Pacific Northwest. Tacoma Tree Service provides shrub and bush trimming guidance for homes in Tacoma, WA.
When is the best time of year to trim shrubs in Tacoma?
Most deciduous shrubs respond very well to trimming in late winter or very early spring right before they start pushing out new growth. During this time, the plants are dormant, sap is not racing through the stems, and you can actually see the branch structure without a thick wall of leaves blocking your view. However, the rules change for flowering varieties. If you have spring-blooming shrubs like rhododendrons or lilacs, which are very common in neighborhoods like North Tacoma and Proctor, you must wait until immediately after they finish flowering. Pruning them in winter will snip off all of your spring blooms.
How far back can I cut my overgrown hedges?
The answer depends entirely on the plant species. Plants like boxwood, privet, and laurel can take a heavy pruning and bounce right back from old wood. But if you hack conifers like arborvitae or cypress back into the brown dead zone where there is no green foliage left, they will not regrow. They will just stay dead and brown in that spot permanently. As a general rule of thumb, never remove more than one-third of a shrub total canopy in a single growing season unless you want to send the plant into severe shock.
Should I use electric hedge trimmers or hand pruners?
The choice boils down to the look you want for your yard. Electric or gas-powered shearers are great for formal hedges because they let you zip across the surface quickly and get that clean, flat-topped box look. But for loose, natural-growth shrubs, power shears just chop leaf tips in half, turning the edges brown and messy. For those plants, use hand bypass pruners and make cuts deeper inside the canopy. The work takes longer, but the plant stays healthy and looks natural instead of looking like a green brick.
Why are the insides of my large shrubs turning brown?
This issue is usually caused by light starvation. When shrubs get too dense and bushy on the outside, they block sunlight and airflow from reaching the interior branches. Once those inner leaves stop getting light, the plant sheds them. If you notice this happening in your yard, you will need to do some selective thinning cuts, opening up little windows inside the canopy so light can reach the core. This process keeps the plant green all the way through instead of turning into a hollow green shell.
How often do I actually need to trim my bushes?
Fast-growing privacy hedges like laurel or Leyland cypress might need two or three trims a year just to keep them off the sidewalk or away from your siding. Slower-growing ornamental shrubs might only need a light cleanup once a year. If you keep up with annual maintenance, you avoid those drastic, ugly heavy chops that take years to grow out of. Tacoma Tree Service provides expert bush trimming services for homes and businesses in Tacoma.
Can bad weather in Tacoma ruin freshly trimmed shrubs?
We get plenty of heavy wet snow and freezing windstorms rolling off the Sound during winter. If you shear a tender, non-hardy shrub right before a deep freeze, the exposed cuts can suffer severe frost damage. Try to wrap up your major heavy pruning before the cold snap hits, and leave emergency storm-damaged cleanup for whenever nature decides to throw a branch down in your yard. For Tacoma homes, Tacoma Tree Service is here for all your shrub maintenance needs.