Hedge Clippings

14 years ago

Our house came with a very mature Yew hedge--4' high, over 4' wide, 100+ feet long. The hedge seems strong and healthy and obviously maintained. It is on a short sideslope, so the ground is higher on one side than the other. There is a sidewalk on the high side, but the hedge makes it impassable.

The width of the hedge, the sidewalk barrier, and the uneven ground make it difficult to remove the large amount of clippings from under the hedge.

Can we leave the clippings as a form of mulch? I was told the clippings are acidic and would harm the hedge.

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

Thanks - Mike

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

duluthinbloomz4
14 years ago
Doesn't seem likely the trimmings from the hedge could be harmful to the hedge from whence they came. If so, it would have killed itself long ago. Look at the conifer forests with years of needle and debris drop.

What you will have is an understory of twigs and rust colored debris as the trimmings lose their green. Won't hurt anything or be smothering unless you trim often and it really piles up to unreasonable levels. If getting a flexible rake under there is impossible, a leaf blower might be the next best thing.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
might attract vermin .... such as mice.. rats.. snakes..

or the good version of such ....

sounds pretty cheesy to me.... i guess it depends on how unsightly it may all look ... and what the neighbors may end up saying or thinking about it ...

i dont understand this comment: There is a sidewalk on the high side, but the hedge makes it impassable.

are you blocking the public sidewalk.. or your private walk???

if you are blocking the public sidewalk.. it might be time to start separating from this laborious monster.. and contemplate.. when it is going to have go ....

ken
Related Discussions
Need some hedge etc suggestions please
Q
Comments (11)
I don't think you could be more certain of destroying some of the opportunities to create a fine looking setting than by building the raised wood planters. I would ditch that idea. In all of your pictures I see green plants at all levels so there's no question but that things will grow. A little fertilizer and/or soil amendments at planting time might even improve that. Creating a nice looking landscape is not going to come just from suggestions of what plants to use. It'll be that plus their placement, arrangement, size, forms and finishes ... half of which is determined by how you'll maintain it. In order for the suggestions you get here to be meaningful, you'll need to turn them into an actual plan before you begin installing the work. Then you'll end up with what you intend and want. In order to upgrade the look of the house, consider substantially widening the walk. It could be done by bordering it with brick. That leads into an opportunity to dress the whole yard up by separating beds from lawn with a clearly defined brick mowing strip. A simple, non-busy planting would better show off the features of the house. I am not the least rigid about the use of symmetry, but with what the scene is already offering, I think it works well here ... providing an air of formality without the bother of precision hedge clipping.
...See More
Good compost chipper/shredders?
Q
Comments (4)
Problem is with composting in a bin or whatever, one needs to carry the stuff to the bin, then afterwards haul the stuff where you want to use it. It seems to me, your very early in the process of potential joint problems since your still doing this. My suggestion is to begin experimenting with composting in place. Less chance of accelerating damage to the joints. We need to consistently keep moving, but not stress our body. And hands and wrists are much more important than the average person realizes. Not being able to wipe, because of wrist problems can be the end result, where you thought not being able to open the door was the worst of it. Every single thing you do each day adds up. Review all the things and start working on ways to make things easier on yourself. It will pay off in the long run. An appointment with a physical therapist is a reasonable option, having an expert to help guide me, early on was one of the smartest things I did and paid off in lower medical costs in the long run. Since I've changed doorknobs and faucets to levers, found a mouse that works for me, learned to crochet to strengthen my hands and wrists... some folks take up knitting for the same reason, but not holding the hook in the normal way. Changed my keyboard layout to Dvorac and learning that was a trial, but super helpful..and continues paying off. Then all the more obvious things like household and garden tools designed to be wrist friendly. Do take care. Being tough and working through the pain does NOT make sense once you realize you can cause damage to your body that can NEVER be undone. If it hurts... STOP. Be kind to yourself and with luck we will both continue in the garden till the end. I know my quality of life would diminish significantly without my garden. I agree with Ltilton, chippers are chippers and shredders are shredders. Folks that try to get one to do both, are the ones writing bad reviews on the machines they bought. Each machine does exactly what it was built to do, and does anything else poorly. I did buy a Worx leaf shredder for specific things. It works great for my needs. The plus there is it nests together in a small stack that fits on a shelf on my back porch. I only bring it out now and then during the summer for certain projects. For your cardboard go to the vermicomposting forum and search for the paper shredder they prefer for cardboard. I forget the brand name, but there was one several folks use and really like. This post was edited by plaidbird on Fri, Jul 4, 14 at 17:15
...See More
Modifying and starting with components in my earthmachine
Q
Comments (5)
I've had the earth machine for quite some time. I don't have a lot of kitchen waste, but I toss in root- and seedless weeds and other garden clippings to make up for that. I just toss in what I have - I use the composter in part to reduce landfill garbage and to keep the yard neat :) If it looks too dry I add more greens, if it's too wet I add more browns. Give it a good stir once in a while and it's all good. I got a lawn bag full of DRY, relatively seedless lawn clipping from a friend early in the season (mine get mulched) which I keep on hand for browns. I also use shredded office paper. I don't use newspaper much because it clumps unless you tear it up very fine. I suppose it all depends on how fast you want your compost to be finished. If time is not an issue, then anything will compost eventually. With my small household and garden, I get perhaps one bin full per season (I spread whatever looks mostly done out in the fall and it's finished by the spring). I do chop all kitchen waste (include papertowel that doesn't have cleaners on it, too) and tear up larger leaves/stalks before adding them to speed things up. Big stuff like corn cobs or melon rinds go into the city's green waste pick up. Their huge piles heat up much better than my wee bin :) I don't get why you want to cover the slits, though. You need those for ventilation.
...See More
How should I Prune my Azaleas?
Q
Comments (3)
Azaleas have growth buds all along their stems just under the bark surface - new growth will sprout from just below any cut you make. I think you'd be happier with these in their setting if you didn't attempt a formal sheared hedge approach, better would be to selectively prune stems to the height you want. Cut back a little lower than you want the plants to grow, healthy well established azaleas will quickly return to their pre-pruning height. Your azaleas have set their buds for next Springs blooms, so be aware that while it won't damage the plants, pruning now will remove most of the flower display for next season. The ideal time to prune is immediately following Spring flowers.
...See More
mgeca
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for the responses--hopefully I might get more just for interest.

duluthinbloom-yours is a very common sense response. The real issue behind my post was acidic clippings killing the hedge. Not my idea lol. You hit it on the head in a clear response.

ken_adrian-I like your points as well. It is a monstrous hedge yet quite in scale with the surroundings of 100-year old domiciles. Such big hedges are common in the neighborhood. The setting is complicated--a short dead-end brick street (public)is parallel to the hedge. As far as I know, the sidewalks, which border the street here are private (or no one cares who owns then) and lead to our garage. The hedge means a short walk in the quiet street which is no problem.

As for neighbors, none are close and the shrub could probably cover over ten years of clippings without anyone seeing them (wife excepted). Vermin are another matter and I agree with you.

Cheesy? Yes. Time to go? Not as long as it is healthy, which will be longer than I am around if it present condition is any marker. Can you imagine removing something like this?

Other than the task of trimming this big hedge, it is aesthetically pleasing to us, is a conversation piece for sure, and provides an exceptional visual barrier for our backyard activities. We feel it is worth the effort.

All of this started because I got lazy and suggested we leave the hard to reach clippings. My wife removed them and always will. She knows lazy.

I enjoy the perspectives provided--much truth in everything and a bit of education for me. I really appreciate that.

Thanks to both of you.

Mike

Hedge Clippings

Comments (3)

duluthinbloomz4

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Related Discussions

mgeca
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Hedge Clippings

Comments (3)

duluthinbloomz4

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Related Discussions

mgecaOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

mgeca
Original Author