If you leave hedges to their own devices for a short while you will find your shears are no longer up to the job of trimming them. Not to mention how long it would take you to trim a hedge with small hand tools anyway. If you really want to tackle a hedge properly you need to get yourself a long reach hedge trimmer, something that will make the job easier and save you time messing about with inadequate tools. You may not need a long hedge trimmer exactly but could instead get away with smaller hedge trimmers, read the following to determine what kind of trimmer you need.
Choosing The Blade
This is the business end of the hedge trimmer so when determining which kind you need this is where you start. The basic rule is if you have a large hedge you need at least a 58cm blade, for medium sized hedges you will need 47 – 57cm and for a small hedge you can get away with 46cm or lower.
You should also pay attention to how thick the branches are you will be cutting, make sure you get a blade with adequate teeth size in order to tackle the hedge appropriately, the width of the blade usually determines the size of the teeth. If you intend to tackle a hedge that has particularly thick branches you will want to get smaller teeth and even prune it first with other tools.
Power Source
The power source for your trimmer will be one of three options, powered by the mains, petrol or a battery that you can recharge. Each has pros and cons so lets take a closer look.
If you choose to have a long hedge trimmer that is powered by the mains then you need not worry about power. Such models will usually weigh less than those powered differently and will not create any smoke. The fact that mains powered trimmers need to be constantly connected by a cable however is their main negative, with the cable always there there is always a safety risk of accidentally slicing it, bear this in mind when using one. There is also the fact that you need to either have an extension or be close enough to a plug to use such devices, this means if you need to cut hedges that are a distance from anything such a power source is not good enough.
Using a rechargeable long reach hedge trimmer has some positives but a lot of negatives, the speed in which you work plays a large part to this. They are perfect for portability, they produce no smoke and are a lot quieter than other options, they are also safer with the lack of a cable always attached. The negatives for such a powered trimmer are the fact you need to charge them for upwards of 5 hours and will only get 30 minutes worth of work out of the two batteries. This means you need to plan your trimming in advance so you make sure the battery is charged and get the job done quickly.
Now for the last option, petrol powered. Such long reach hedge trimmers are useful because once again they are completely portable unlike the mains powered ones. The negative however lies in the weight of the device thanks to the petrol engine, making it require a certain amount of strength to operate, especially if you need to get into awkward positions. The fact you need to keep it full of petrol will also cost more than the other two options. It also produces smoke from the exhaust and will be louder than the other options, however it is the most powerful and can be used for long periods of time without worrying about recharging or being connected to a plug socket.