No Mess Shrub Cutting or Removal

Have you ever launched into a massively overgrown bush with shears only to discover that after twenty minutes of ecstasy you've created an hour or more of back-breaking clean up? Is your city or township persnickety about bush pickup requiring bundles using twine only, with branches of no more than X diameter and Y length? OOO! Me! Me! Pick Me!

Oddly, this isn't my first post on overgrown shrubs. Clearly we bought a house whose landscaping was far beyond its expiration date, hastened by negligence and\or neglect. I've had plenty of opportunity to devise new techniques for making life with large shrubs more enjoyable. In this post I will share a method I've discovered for effectively cutting back or completely removing a bush in about half the time it would otherwise take.

STEP 1- Start with a bush that needs a haircut in a bad way...

BEFORE

This bush, while screening our porch from the street nicely, will be unnecessary once the fence is finished, and boy is it ugly!

STEP 2- Tie a small loop to the end of twine.


 

Twine, cheap and plentiful

STEP 3- Divide the bush into "chunks," bundling each tightly before cutting anything on the bush. Go on to the next picture to see how to do this.

After wrapping the twine around a portion of the bush, thread the end of the twine through the loop you created. The lasso you now have will help you tighten down the portion of the bush you've looped. CAUTION: Especially if you have twine like that shown, don't rely on the strength of the twine to condense the branches of the bush into a tight bundle. Use your hands and arms and bear hug the branches while tightening the twine. 

STEP 4- You've already done the hard work. Now comes the fun!

Cut or trim the bush at the desired height. If your city requires brush to be a certain length, keep that in mind. In this case, my city asks for 4' bundles maximum, and that was about the height of the bush WHICH I WANTED GONE. I didn't bother with shears and went straight for the chainsaw.

STEP 5- Move your bundles to the curb!

Inevitably a few stray branches have to be tucked into a bundle or a bundle needs to be tightened or needs additional wraps of twine. But for the most part, your work is done.

AFTER