In message , Nick
Gray writes

"smileygonzo1961" wrote in message
...
hi guys,

ou new garden has a beech hedge and I wondered whether I could cut it with
a
hedge cutter or do I need to prune it by hand using shears? are there any
benefits/disadvantes cutter vs. shears?

Yes. You get left with a few half leaves using a hedge cutter. But you
can always go over it with secateurs afterwards to neaten it up, and
chose good buds. I am presently working on thinning my hedges.

I don't want to try the cutter if it will damage the hedge.......

Most plants used for hedging are pretty tolerant of abuse. I generally
trim out the sappy new growth with the hedge trimmer from time to time.
Earlier in the year I had trouble with clouds of white fly cutting it in
leaf.

I used to use a hedge cutter on my 200ft beech hedge, but have since found
that using secateurs I can 'prune' branches to up or sideways pointing buds,
thus thickening up the hedge.

BTW It's best to leave pruning until the hedge is dormant, although I find
that pruning in the depths of winter, removes a lot of the brown leaves, so
I tend to leave until spring.

Mine doesn't seem to mind when it is cut. The new growth comes back
within a few weeks mid season so any temporary damage to leaves is
quickly masked.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown