soapdragon Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Inverted commas are due to the fact that I drove to pick up boys from school yesterday to see a tractor with extended arm ''cutting'' hedges. Except that it wasn't......the hedges had been ripped and looked raw and rough. They did not impinge on the road and there was no need to cut them but it made me feel really angry to see the rough and ripped branches of the hedges Why is this felt to be necessary? There are plenty of lanes that need the grass trimming at junctions but this absolute rape of the branches is not at all appropriate and does not help at all with regard to road safety so why do it and waste resources? I HATE the raw branches and twigs left and feel outraged; this happens so often round here but is just not justifiable....it destroys habitats and looks awful! Makes me SO angry; sorry to vent but just don't see the point Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 I was a bit scared to open this post! I share your feelings on it exactly though. I saw a hedge here like it on Thursday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken shack Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 This is normal and looks brutal however done now gives the plants time to recover ready for new growth, allowing time for birds to nest. Being a Townie I was ask shocked at first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 I hate this too it is done a lot around here too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 it is necessary if it's not done then the hedges just get over grown and cause a hazard to motoring and non motoring traffic and even through it looks brutal it is beneficial to the hedgerow as it promotes new growth both to the existing 'trees' and new seedling by letting light get to the base of the hedge row which in turn extends the life of the hedgerow it just unusual to see it done this time of year it's usually a mid summer job but I suppose as the bird nesting season is getting longer they've had to do more winter pruning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahjayne Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 Our neighbours are farmers who trim the roadside hedges in our area. They are not allowed to trim between the months of March and Sept due to nesting birds. Roll on spring when everything comes back to life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggasperated Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 It's quite interesting round here, some years the hedges appear ripped to pieces other years they are beautifully neat, this year they look really smart. I often wonder whether it's the skill of the tractor driver or whether the machinery blades are sharp enough. I would like to have the courage to ask but I don't like the idea of tackling the tractor driver with that great big cutting arm waving over my head . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 Try not to fret, it is entirely necessary as SJP says. Without the annual cut, the bushes would very soon get totally out of hand. We have over 100m of mostly mixed native hedging and it grows between 4 and 10 foot a year in all directions, (depending on variety) because after all hedges are mostly trees, but we want to keep them cut down to become hedges. Its a real job to cut it - we usually do it about now, the one time I had to get somebody in to do it it cost about £700 and took 2 men 2 days with chainsaws, so in a sense we are lucky that farmers take on the work. But without the cut the bushes would just get leggier and sprawlier, so they would be a real safety hazard. They also lose their vigour over time so they wouldn't be so good as sources of habitat, the leaf cover would be patchy for a start. I bet in the early summer you wouldn't know the hedges had been cut, they'll be clothed in green and home to lots and lots of insects, small mammals and birds I was chatting to a hedge cutter a couple of months ago - he was doing a recce of the hedges as he was going to cut that day, but there was a local event on so he cancelled his work with a lot of visitors Whilst we chatted, loads of people came up to say hello to him and he and I talked a lot about birds and wildlife; he was a proper countryman, embedded in his local small town - I felt pleased to have met him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 It's not the fact that the hedges are cut that I object to, of course that's necessary, it's the fact that sometimes they look flailed rather than trimmed - I think the blades are just not sharp enough - so big branches get ripped off and there's always loads of sharp bits strewn over the roads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patsylabrador Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 The thing that worries me is seeing all the grassy, flowery verges being mowed in the summer. Aren't they full of good stuff then for wildlife? I know it's probably safer for drivers but it does look sad. Hopefully it's also done by people who know what they're doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted February 8, 2015 Author Share Posted February 8, 2015 I don't have a problem with hedges needing to be cut back...thats good land management but its the fact that they are left looking mangled, raw and ripped. As others have said, maybe this is down to the equipment used but it does look so brutal. Also stick an branches get left all over the road. Equally, I can't understand why grass on verges on country roads gets cut back when its not causing a hazard (junctions need to be kept mown so that visibility is at an optimum, obviously) but it does seem a waste of energy, effort and money to cut a foot or so along a verge during the summer.....agree with PL on that one in terms of habitats too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 I don't much like it either, but agree with sjp as to the benefits. Hedge laying seems to be back on the menu here now, and it's one skill that I'd really like to learn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Leia Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 One of the problems with the "flailing" method of cutting is that it throws the debris far and wide. That means thorns all over the road and/or path. Absolutely fatal for cycle tyres Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Yes they can look rather hacked at but seem to grow back quick. Was I the only person who thought this thread was about something entirely different? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 Yes they can look rather hacked at but seem to grow back quick. Was I the only person who thought this thread was about something entirely different? Sorry, am obviously being a thicket but am clearly missing something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Yes they can look rather hacked at but seem to grow back quick. Was I the only person who thought this thread was about something entirely different? No I was slightly relieved to find it actually was about hedge trimming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Me too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 And me - see my first comment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Soapdragon - will pm you. Its the rest of us who are at fault not you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 having probs doing pm will keep trying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 Will wait to hear.... but am now quite anxious and embarrased that I have caused offence if so, it was only through ignorance I think that I might have worked it out but really thought that was another kind of shrub mostly found in gardens I used the title that seemed most appropriate given the subject so, again, appols if I have put my foot in it (clearly I have lead a very sheltered life ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Um, I seem to live a very sheltered life. I didn't know there was an alternative meaning! Anyhooo, yes I think the blades must be blunt. Some I have seen look really good and orderly. Last Friday I was going to a local farm and it looked like the machine was shredding the hedge not trimming it. And as a consequence the lot was flying all over the place and all over the road. Huge branches in places. Cars were having to swerve to avoid them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Gosh dont worry - I am just glad its not just me. I tried to PM you but couldnt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Valkyrie we've already talked about this on another thread, you don't need the information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 No, really you don't Sorry everyone Alis Girls has brought me up to speed on this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
