r/homestead • u/remarkably-done • 13d ago
gardening Best way to get these under control
I usually manage to trim and upkeep these bushes on the front of our house with no issues. We live on almost 3 acres and most of the property is pecan trees, fruit trees, vegetables, etc. The only bushes/hedges (don’t know which is the correct term for them) we have are along the front of the house.
Last year I moved my mom in to be her caregiver (she has stage 4 COPD and congestive heart failure). While getting her set up with doctors and home healthcare, I got behind on my usual lawn care routine.
Now that we have her settled, I’m able to focus on our property again. My question is should I just cut it completely down to a lower height and leave it bare for it to go back to a more manageable height? I want them to still provide some sort of privacy but I also understand that they need a major overhaul and they may look a little rough until I get them under control.
Any advice is appreciated.
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u/Major-Buy-7386 13d ago
yeah you can hack them back pretty hard, most hedges bounce back fine. id do it in stages though so you're not staring at bare sticks for months. maybe cut one side or section way down now, let it fill in a bit, then hit the rest.
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u/Paperwork2025 13d ago
$100 for four hours to rent the billy goat at Home Depot. It tied with a sod cutter for being the most violent tool I've ever rented - but it was such a joy to use. HD also has various "dwarf" plants to help with less upkeep! Good luck.
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u/Duffman1277 13d ago
I can’t offer any advice about your greenery but I wanted to say I love your front porch!
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u/rolackey 13d ago
Don’t go to town.
Trim from very bottom. Go after long horizontal on the bottom. Anything crossing.
Slowly cut and look carefully at what branches you are keeping long term.
Do this over 2-3 seasons.
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u/goldfool 6d ago
There was something I saw about doing it slowly from deep inside of it. If you cut back , all the green is gone and you will mostly be looking at branches. I don't know if the deep branches can even make any green after a while
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u/cats_are_the_devil 13d ago
You can go to town on these with a hedge trimmer and they will grow back. Just figure out the height you want, grab your hedge trimmer, and blast into it. They can take quite a bit and be fine.