I’ve Spent Countless Winters Pruning Hedges – These Are the 7 Deciduous Hedges You Can Trim in January

If you have hedges on your property, they will need pruning, and you may be able to do them this month. Regular trimming ensures any hedge remains looking good and under control, rather than becoming an overgrown mess that encroaches into or dominates your garden.

There are many windows to prune hedges, depending on your location and the type of hedge, and January can be a safe time to prune deciduous hedges. Simply pick a dry, mild day to head out and trim, and always avoid pruning hedges during freezing weather.

I have spent countless hours, days, and weeks pruning hedges during the winter months. I worked in large, historic gardens filled with large hedges, and many of the deciduous hedges were trimmed through January. It can be a good time to prune hedges, as the structure is visible, and here are seven hedges you can prune in January.

7 Hedges to Prune in January - What You Should and Shouldn't Trim

It is safest to stick with pruning deciduous hedging plants in January. Evergreen hedges are more at risk of damage from frost and cold winds, so, unless you live in a warm US hardiness zone, it is recommended that you wait until early spring.

This guide looks at seven deciduous hedges to prune in January, and includes information on how to trim and any pruning tools you may need.

1. Hawthorn

A hawthorn hedge can be stunning, with white flowers in spring and red berries in the fall, and it makes an excellent deciduous hedge for wildlife.

One of the other perks of hawthorn hedges is that they are very low-maintenance, and could even be classed as hedges that thrive on neglect. They won’t need watering or feeding once established, but do need at least an annual prune to keep them compact.

Hawthorn is a fast-growing hedging plant, so trimming is a definite, and mid-winter can be an ideal time for major hawthorn pruning. Because hawthorn hedges are thorny, thornproof gardening gloves are vital when pruning, such as these thick thornproof gloves from Amazon.

2. Beech

Beech is one of the most popular plants for a dense privacy hedge. It has bright green leaves (there are purple varieties of beech, too, which are confusingly known as copper beech) that turn a glorious orange color come fall.

When landscaping with hedges, beech is a versatile and fast-growing plant that is great at reducing noise and providing seclusion. It even retains the leaves in winter to give a year-round screen.

Pruning beech in winter promotes strong growth come spring. It is an ideal time for major pruning to remove dead, diseased, and damaged growth and to shape the top and sides of the hedge. If you do want to renovate the hedge and remove a lot of height, it is better to do it over the course of two or three years.

What is important is always using clean and sharp tools, like hedge shears, to prune your hedge. A multipurpose garden tool sharpener, like this one available on Amazon, can put a sharp edge on any pruning or hedging shears.

3. Hornbeam

A hornbeam hedge is often mistaken for beech, as they do have a similar appearance. The difference is that hornbeam has distinctive oval-shaped leaves with serrated edges that turn from green in summer to golden yellow during the fall.

The dense growth of hornbeam provides year-round privacy, as it retains some leaves throughout winter. The hedge can effectively form a screen against wind and reduce noise pollution.

Hornbeam is a low-maintenance hedge plant that responds well to pruning. It often needs two cuts a year. A trim in mid-to-late winter can keep it tidy and compact, which is especially key if the hedge forms part of a formal garden where shape and uniformity are essential. A second light trim can take place in summer.

If you want to rejuvenate or hard-prune a hornbeam to reduce its size, winter is the time to do it. For this job, a pair of sharp loppers will be required, such as these Corona bypass loppers from Garden Goods Direct that can cut branches up to 1.5 inches in diameter.

4. Hedge maple

Hedge maple is also known as field maple or common maple. It is a tough plant ideal for urban hedges, due to its ability to grow in any soil type. It even makes a great hedging plant for chalky soil.

It is a small to medium-sized hedge plant with dense foliage, making it perfect for screening. The leaves have five rounded lobes and turn a beautiful yellow in the fall, while the hedge maple also produces small yellow flowers in spring and winged fruits for seasonal interest.

You should prune the hedge maple during dormancy from November through January. It is a pruning mistake to cut the hedge maple when it is actively growing, as it will bleed sap that is unsightly and also makes the plant susceptible to pests and diseases.

Provided it is not freezing, January is an ideal opportunity to shape the hedge or do any major pruning.

5. Hazel

Hazel can make a fast-growing privacy screen or windbreak for a wildlife garden. It provides food and shelter for wildlife throughout the year, from early pollen for bees to cobnuts in the fall. It need not just be for wildlife, though, as hazel also makes a great edible hedge plant if you want to enjoy homegrown nuts yourself in summer and fall.

Hazel is also a low-maintenance hedge that can grow in lots of locations and soil types. Whether sunny or part-shade, as long as the soil is free-draining, hazel can adapt and thrive.

A hazel hedge requires annual pruning from late January to March to keep it neat and controlled. Winter is also the time for hard pruning hazel, if your mission is to rejuvenate an older hedge or even coppice it to ground level.

Coppicing hedges is a traditional way of cutting down and rejuvenating overgrown hedges, and you will need a pruning saw to cut the stems down if you wish to go down this route. A folding pruning saw, like this one at Amazon, can cut branches up to 7-10 inches.

6. Blackthorn

A blackthorn hedge is tough in several ways. Firstly, it is an ideal intruder-proof hedge plant thanks to its thorns. It prevents unwanted animals or humans from getting through – a perfect plant for home security. Blackthorn also tolerates poor soil types and strong winds, making it a good choice for coastal gardens.

It is tough, but also beautiful and generous. Blackthorn produces white blossoms on bare branches in spring, which are popular with bees and other pollinators, and sloes in fall that are a food source for many birds.

The plant’s spikey demeanour also makes a perfect shelter for many insects, birds, and small mammals.

You definitely need eye protection and thick gloves to prune blackthorn hedges during their winter dormancy. As it is vigorous, lightly trim annually to remove dead, damaged, or diseased stems, and shape the hedge.

Blackthorn is also known to produce suckers, so remove these to stop it from spreading.

7. Pleached Limes

An alternative form of hedging is to create a natural floating screen by growing pleached trees. This method of training trees has been done for centuries, and it is a perfect solution for any homeowner who fears being overlooked or wants a natural screen to block an unattractive building.

Lime is a popular tree for pleaching, together with beech and hornbeam, which also feature on this list of hedges to prune in January.

If you have any of those three growing as pleached trees on your property, they do need pruning twice a year. One is a major prune that takes place in winter while the trees are dormant, and the other is a second, albeit lighter, summer trim.

The winter trim is a time to remove any dead, damaged, or diseased branches and shorten back the long shoots to shape the hedge for the season ahead.

A good pair of hedging shears is the best tool at your disposal for this job, like these Fiskars hedge shears at Amazon with serrated blades and shock-absorbing bumpers to make it more comfortable to trim for extended periods.

If you live in milder climates, it can be safe to prune evergreen hedges towards the end of January. The likes of yew and holly are two contenders that you can do light pruning on in late winter, once the worst of the freezing conditions are over.

Overall, the start of the year can be a quieter time, but there are important jobs to do. For example, if you are looking for more inspiration, this guide to plants to prune in January reveals some popular shrubs that may benefit from a bit of attention this month.

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