Guides · Dover Hedges

The Dover 12-month hedge calendar

Every hedge job in Dover sits inside three overlapping constraints: the legal bird-nesting window, the biology of the species you are cutting, and the local weather pattern. Here is the twelve-month view we work to.

January — heavy conifer work window

Late winter is the safest heavy-cut window for leylandii, thuja and yew. The plant is dormant, the sap is not running, cypress aphid is at its lowest activity, and the bird-nesting window has not yet started. Staged leylandii reductions are ideal work for this month. Cold snaps are not a problem provided the temperature is above freezing on the day of cutting.

February — last window for hard work before nesting

Same as January in practice. Last chance to do major reductions, removals or bare-root planting before nesting-season constraints kick in. Bare-root native mixed hedges planted in February will establish through spring provided watering is committed to for the first summer.

March — nesting season starts (1st)

Under section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is a criminal offence to damage or destroy an active wild bird nest. The main nesting season legally runs 1 March to 31 August, and RSPB advises formal trimming should default to 1 September to 28 February. Cutting inside the window is only permissible if a competent visual nest check confirms no active nests, and even then we discourage it on any hedge showing bird activity.

April — box tree caterpillar first generation

First-generation box tree caterpillars start feeding. Btk spray programme starts if you are running one. First early-season inspection of box blight symptoms on any surviving box hedge.

May — growth flush, nesting peak

Peak growth on privet, laurel and leylandii. Tempting to cut, but the nesting window is at its most sensitive. We stay off hedges except for spot work on species with a confirmed nest check.

June — cypress aphid peak, avoid conifer cutting

Peak cypress aphid activity on leylandii. Cutting during this window creates the classic brown-window damage that people mistake for hedge death. Avoid heavy conifer cutting until the aphid drops off in late July or early August. Light shaping of beech, hornbeam and formal yew is possible with careful nest checks.

July — box tree caterpillar second generation

Second-generation box tree caterpillars start feeding. Second Btk round.

August — late summer cut window opens

The best month for a single-cut approach on beech, hornbeam and yew. Late August cuts on beech and hornbeam preserve the russet winter leaves. Yew tolerates a hard clip at end of August and returns cleanly in spring. This is the busiest month of our year.

September — nesting window closes (1st)

Formal cutting season resumes. Privet, laurel, leylandii (aphid dependent), holly and mixed native hedges are all fair game from now until end of February. We stack the diary heavily through September and October.

October — last main cutting month before wet

Solid cutting month. Ground is still workable, hedges are approaching dormancy. Any leylandii reductions delayed from July or August happen here.

November — wettest month; bare-root planting starts

Dover's wettest month, averaging around 99 mm at Dover Harbour (Met Office 1991 to 2020). Ground is moist and workable, sap has fallen, and bare-root planting season opens for native hedges. Ideal month to plant. Coastal salt-burn events start showing on non-tolerant foliage.

December — planting, and light cutting

Planting continues. Formal hedges get their tidy-up cut before Christmas where the client wants a smart look through winter. Deer browsing peaks on any newly planted native mix at downland sites; we install guards on whips as standard.

The salt-burn window (Nov-Feb)

Southwesterly gales lift salt spray onto clifftop and cliff-adjacent gardens between November and February. This is not a cutting window issue; it is a planting-choice issue that shows up in this window. Salt burn on non-tolerant foliage in a hard December is why we plant Griselinia, Elaeagnus and Escallonia as the outer boundary line on cliff-front plots.

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