As my current hedge trimmer has died, I'm thinking of investing in one that I can use without the aid of a step-ladder. Can anyone recommend one of the type of extending trimmers that are frequently advertised in the weekend papers.
Thanks.
Clk Sec
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My previous owse was surrounded on all four sides by edges, some being 12ft or more high :(
I used to cut em myself using a Bosch cordless edge trimmer which was ard work but I managed it.
When we sold up last year, I called a geezer in to give em a short back n' sides for me.
Two geezers turned up, one to do the work, and one to drink my pure Ceylon.
They used a Stihl edge trimmer and did the work in a mere fraction of the thyme it wood have took me,
and they didn't have to use a ladder and risk life & limb like yours truly!
Personally, I'd gofer a petrol jobbie but, the Stihl is too expensive really for DIY.
So, depending on how many acres you have, something like this may do the job:
www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B001SN8OCY/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
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This petrol multi-tool with four attachments is not bad value:
tinyurl.com/7j6n9na
And you can buy an extension bar for extra reach.
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If you have big hedges it's important to consider the dimension between the teeth on the main cutting blade rather than trimming gimmicks or multi-tools. Many hedge trimmers only have a clearance of 12-14mm but 20mm or over will cope with tough hedges much better. More expensive though, unfortunately.
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I used to have one of these, they also do lawns! - very good!
tinyurl.com/8ayrhmc
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Thanks for the responses so far. Please keep them coming.
PS
Humph: I might find a trimmer, that is nearly as big as your car, a bit cumbersome.
Devonite: Regrettably, £7066.80 is a tad over budget.
Last edited by: Clk Sec on Sat 14 Jul 12 at 13:53
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Seconded. I aquired a 4-in-1 multitool, with the 1m extension pole, from the German company "Fuxtec" (stop laughing at the back).
Two observations:
1) Petrol driven hedge trimmers are infinitely superior to electric ones. They cut through anything, removing the need to stop every minute or so and get the secateurs out for any tough, overgrown bits.
2) Cutting from ground level using one of these and its adjustable head angle knocks the spots off going up a ladder, cutting a bit, coming down, moving the ladder and then repeating the process ad nauseum.
It paid for itself from my using it to pollard a load of trees with the chainsaw attachment (200EUR and my time vs. 600EUR quote from a pro). The hedge trimming function came free, although I now wish I'd bought one years ago as it's so much easier and quicker. Bonus is that, being generic Chinese kit, all the parts are available from a variety of sources for peanuts. The chainsaw head's a bit cheesy and I'm on my second one.
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>> They used a Stihl edge trimmer and did the work in a mere fraction of
>> the thyme it wood have took me,
>> and they didn't have to use a ladder and risk life & limb like yours
>> truly!
>>
>> Personally, I'd gofer a petrol jobbie but, the Stihl is too expensive really for DIY.
I use these at work, they even sound good when you rev them, now that they have 4 stroke engines (bit like a large capacity single cylinder 'thumper' motorbike).
www.stihlchainsawsnorfolk.co.uk/stihl-hl95-long-reach-hedge-trimmer/
They are expensive but they would last you years. Depends how many hedges you have and how long you think you will remain at the property.
What type of hedge is it?
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Yep! - that's the kiddie alright corax, a good investment though, if its your living, they come up on ebay now and again,
but we're stihl talking money!
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Have use one of these and they are the business. If I had a lot of tall hedges I would consider buying one. If you only need one occasionally, say once a year, I would think about hiring. - £48 for a day
www.hss.com/g/62416/Long-Handle-Hedge-Trimmer.html
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>>What type of hedge is it?
It's a mix of conifers, privet and various shrubs. I'm not keen on hiring and if I can't pick up a reasonable one for sub £200, I'll buy another Black & Decker (or similar) and carry on in step-ladder mode.
I don't have a huge garden.
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>>it's important to consider the dimension between the teeth on the main cutting blade
Good point; 20mm would be about right for my usage.
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>> It's a mix of conifers, privet and various shrubs.
Conifers and privet are easy enough to cut. If you were to cut back hard* to reshape and encourage soft growth you would use loppers and saw anyway. The professional type of hedgecutter would be used to cut miles of hedges that can't be mollycoddled due to time constraints, hence the need to deal with older, tougher growth.
* most conifers will not tolerate cutting back hard. They will not regrow from old wood. Privet is very tough and can be given a hard prune.
I use a Black and Decker for the garden, along with some hard pruning in winter.
Last edited by: corax on Sat 14 Jul 12 at 17:19
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I have quite a bit of hedging to keep up with. Hawthorn, privet, holy and conifer. I have the Ryobi petrol which up to now has given good service. Gave up on the electric after cutting through the cables no end of times and having to sort out the extension cables every time.
Having fallen off the step ladders once I reduced the height of the hawthorn to make it much more manageable.
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Hedges? Spawn of the devil, get rid of the damn things.
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On the contrary, hedges are are very useful. If one has pleasant neighbours, it can be cropped to a suitable height to allow friendly cross-border discourse. If, however, you have people you'd rather not see next door they can be allowed to grow into an appropriate barrier. replacing fence panels accordingly is a bit too much of a statement of position.
:-)
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>> On the contrary, hedges are are very useful. If one has pleasant neighbours, it can
>> be cropped to a suitable height to allow friendly cross-border discourse.
Four foot fence
If, however, you have
>> people you'd rather not see next door they can be allowed to grow into an
>> appropriate barrier.
Six foot fence,
replacing fence panels accordingly is a bit too much of a statement of
>> position.
>>
>> :-)
No point not liking your neighbours if you can't make a statement about it. They could easily be living under a misapprehension.
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>>>No point not liking your neighbours if you can't make a statement about it. They could easily be living under a misapprehension.
Very true... we've just raised our rear boundary fence from 4'6" to 6' so we can't see their eyes... and planted pyracantha which will go to 7' in time. They've got the message.
Re hedge trimmers...
I bought an extended reach petrol a couple of years ago for £500ish. Swapped it after day's use as I found the leverage worked against you when a tough bit at height was encountered... very hard on the back and arms. Also stupidly unwieldy when doing the bits you could reach anyway.
Ended up with this...
www.angliamowers.co.uk/acatalog/info_HONDAHHH25S.html
and this..
www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/4-in-1-scaffold-ladder
...which in my extensive and ongoing tall hedge maintenance experience is a better combination.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Sun 15 Jul 12 at 09:33
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It's stable enough to cope with rough ground. Slopes into a hedge are no problem as it will just lean on the hedge. For slopes running up to the hedge I have 2" and 4" blocks. Steeper than that then you can convert it to a short stable ladder but it's not so easy as working from the 1.5m long platform.
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>>It's stable enough to cope with rough ground<<
Yes, I've seen them demonstrated on QVC etc. and they look quite useful, but I was thinking of our previous place where I even had problems using a normal ladder due to raised beds, large shrubs etc,.
Plus the fact I absolutely loathe climbing ladders since I fell orf one when I was 15.
I hired a scaffold tower from Speedy hire at our last place to paint the wood gables above the 2 bay windows.
Well designed I thought, I even managed to erect it by myself, you can get DIY versions but I wonder how they compare to the pro jobbies.
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-5m-DIY-Aluminium-Scaffold-Tower-/310318784212?pt=UK_H_G_Ladders_RL&hash=item484070ded4
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Our NDN has planted a hedge - her side of the fence. Suits me. The other property is unsold, wait to see what happens...
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>> Our NDN has planted a hedge - her side of the fence. Suits me.
As long as it's not Leylandii.
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The big problem with hedges is that people plant them far too near the boundary. If you plant a hedge that will mature into something 3 feet deep you should plant at least 2 feet from the boundary not 6 inches like most people do.
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I did my hedges yesterday -- ( see the tubby or not tubby thread) with my Black and Decker extendable electric trimmer for the softer stuff combined with tree loppers for cutting back the bigger shrubs and the extendible lopper which I use for cutting the very tops of some of the bigger shrubs which I cannot reach otherwise . Took 7 hours .....my rear garden is not overlooked and all the hedges are at least eight foot high , combination of laurel, leylandii , holly and blackthorn.
Try and get something fairly light if your hedges are tall because working with something at or over head height is pretty tiring after a while.... also on most electric trimmers you have to hold the switches in on the two handles to stop it cutting out and I had severe cramp in my right hand by the time I finished.
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Many thanks for the helpful responses.
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Hedge Trimmer - Recommendation - Runfer D'Hills
