
Whereas single-sided machines tend to have longer blades, so can cut through more material in a single sweep and work more efficiently for smaller tasks. If you have a bigger garden to tackle, you’ll be best suited to double-sided cutters, which allow you to trim in a sweeping, back-and-forth motion for a speedier process. Ultimately it depends on the size of your garden and the hedges you intend to trim. Hedge trimmers FAQs What size hedge trimmer do I need? The variable speed control means that you can increase or decrease the blade speed when needed and this is all backed up by Ego’s battery system which is one of the best on the market. It also works really well when it’s brought back down to earth and you need to cut in a scything motion. It can be a bit of a workout when operating at its limit, however the 51cm blade with 26mm of blade gap and excellent cutting speed is super-efficient, so it will make quick work of tidying up, including areas clogged with thicker branches. The extension reaches to four metres and the double-sided trimmer head has six adjustable angles. The system has two heads so you can switch between the PSX2500 pruning saw attachment and PTX5100 hedge trimmer attachment, and of course it was the latter that we were really interested in. No nests? Then let us guide you through the maze of trimmers, to find the right one for you.Īs the name suggests, this is part of the telescopic pole system, which will get you within cutting distance of high hedges so you won’t have the hassle of constructing platforms or balancing on ladders.

Whichever trimmer you decide upon, just make sure that, before you start work, you check carefully for any nesting birds, as it’s illegal to damage or destroy these nests, and you’ll have to delay the job until the nest is abandoned. You also need a tool that’s well balanced and lightweight, as hedge trimming puts you in an unorthodox working position and can be very tiring on the arms if you’re not working with a tool that has good ergonomics. The blade is important for efficient working, so we were after machines that had enough distance between the working teeth (manufacturers call this the blade gap) so they didn’t jam or snag as we worked on hedges with varying branch thicknesses. If you don’t have to stretch quite so far, you will probably get along just fine with a trimmer powered by the mains.Įither way, if you have a lot of hedge to contend with, you need a trimmer that’s good for continued use and fitted with a long blade that will get more done in one sweep. If they’re quite a stretch from the house, best to go with a battery-powered trimmer, as you won’t end up getting into a tangle with extension chords. You’ll want to consider where the hedges are on your property, and how much hedge you have.

With power tools designed to take the pain out of pruning your garden, gone are the days of perching precariously on a ladder with only a pair of rusty shears to hand. With the warmer weather leaving us with one less excuse for avoiding garden chores, you may be thinking about giving your hedges a short back and sides.
