Ottawa’s cedar hedges are privacy, windbreak, and property line in one – and they are unforgiving. Cut too deep into old wood and cedars do not regrow; let the top spread wider than the base and the bottom browns out. We trim for shape and for the plant: flat faces, slightly tapered profile, healthy green maintained.
Faces and tops cut flat and square, with the taper that keeps lower growth green.
Overgrown hedges brought down carefully, staged when the plant needs it.
Spireas, dogwoods, junipers, and foundation shrubs shaped to fit their spot.
Overgrown deciduous shrubs thinned and reduced so they flush back healthy.
Tarps down before we start; every trimming bagged and gone when we leave.
Drive any street in Nepean or Orleans and you will see them: cedar hedges marking lines, blocking wind, and screening yards. Kept trimmed, they do the job of a fence and keep growing taller. Neglected, they balloon, brown at the bottom, and swallow walkways. We keep them crisp – flat faces, square tops, and the slight taper that keeps sunlight reaching the base so it stays green to the ground.
Cedars do not regrow from old wood, which is why an aggressive cut by the wrong crew leaves permanent bare patches. We trim to the plant's limits: annual maintenance cuts that hold the line, and staged reductions for overgrown hedges that bring the size down over seasons without killing what makes it a hedge. Deciduous shrubs get the opposite treatment where needed – proper rejuvenation pruning that triggers fresh, dense growth.
Most clients bundle hedge trimming with lawn care or the spring and fall cleanups: we show up in season, cut, clean up, and you never have to think about it. One-time cuts are welcome too – plenty of clients started with a single overgrown hedge.
It scales with length, height, and how overgrown the hedge is. Small jobs often land around $150-$300; long or tall cedar runs and multi-shrub properties range higher. Send a photo or book the free on-site quote for a firm written price.
Late June through early fall is the sweet spot, after the spring flush hardens off. Once a year holds a shape; twice keeps a formal hedge razor-sharp. We schedule annual clients automatically so it never gets missed.
Usually, with honesty about limits. Cedars cannot be cut hard into bare wood, so serious height or width reductions are staged over seasons. We will tell you on site what is achievable and what would kill the hedge.
Always. Tarps go down first, and everything – trimmings, branches, debris – leaves with us.