In article ,
Stuart Noble wrote:

Main thing to consider is the ground in front of your hedge. If it's
soft, a stepladder is out, but standing it on a couple of paving slabs
can make it plenty stable enough for an 8ft hedge.

Hmm. I always use stepladders when possible, because of the wide, flat
rungs - more comfortable and stable for my feet.

However I never use them opened out as stepladders: I lean them against
the hedge: all my hedges will easily support the distributed load of a
stepladder, with me+hedgetrimmer standing near the top.

2p from me
J.