On 20/05/2017 21:03, TheChief wrote:
Hi all

I have a mixed hedge comprising....
Escallonia
Ceanothus
Photinia
Honeysuckle
Eleagnus

The hedge is around eight feet high now, so a bit of a trial,
particularly accessing the top.

So, to the questions...

The hedge has managed to spread in width, despite my best trimming
efforts. If we were to take a foot off the width, would the
hedge face re-green given the chosen plants listed
above?

I have an aging black and decker electric trimmer. To attempt the
above exercise and to maintain the hedge in future, what should I
be looking to replace this with?

Thanks

Phil



I too have an old (30 yrs?)B&D trimmer. Works as well as my son's new one.

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.

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.

On 20/05/2017 21:03, TheChief wrote:
The hedge has managed to spread in width, despite my best trimming
efforts. If we were to take a foot off the width, would the
hedge face re-green given the chosen plants listed
above?

Please be sure there are no birds nesting in it first.

I need to do this too - but not yet...

Andy

On Sun, 21 May 2017 21:16:58 Chris Hogg wrote:

On Sun, 21 May 2017 20:08:11 +0100, Another John
wrote:

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.


I used to do the same, except there was a real risk that my
step-ladder would fall through the hedge because the individual plants
are too far apart. So tied a length of plank across the top to spread
the load. Nowadays I use a long-reach trimmer and the step-ladder is
no longer necessary.

Reading about the support here for long-reach hedge trimmers, and
starting to think now that it's something I need, what are the
recommendations for a make. I have quite a long hedge of "charme" (which
can be quite tough) in France - I don't know what the name is in
English.

David

--
David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK

On Sun, 21 May 2017 21:37:30 +0100, David Rance wrote:

Reading about the support here for long-reach hedge trimmers, and
starting to think now that it's something I need, what are the
recommendations for a make. I have quite a long hedge of "charme" (which
can be quite tough) in France - I don't know what the name is in
English.

I use Mitox tools for most things when I need petrol power (leaf/snow
blower; hedge cutter, lopper, strimmer). Mitox do a multi-attachment
which means that once you have the power unit the accessories can be
bought as required.

Others curse Mitox. My experience is good though.

If you want to go really professional then Stihl would be my manufacturer
of choice.

On 21/05/2017 21:37, David Rance wrote:
On Sun, 21 May 2017 21:16:58 Chris Hogg wrote:

On Sun, 21 May 2017 20:08:11 +0100, Another John
wrote:

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.


I used to do the same, except there was a real risk that my
step-ladder would fall through the hedge because the individual plants
are too far apart. So tied a length of plank across the top to spread
the load. Nowadays I use a long-reach trimmer and the step-ladder is
no longer necessary.

Reading about the support here for long-reach hedge trimmers, and
starting to think now that it's something I need, what are the
recommendations for a make. I have quite a long hedge of "charme" (which
can be quite tough) in France - I don't know what the name is in English.

David


They are good but do be aware that they can play havoc with your
shoulders if you over do it, so never use for long stretches of time,

--
Charlie Pridham
Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk

In article ,
Chris Hogg wrote:

On Sun, 21 May 2017 20:08:11 +0100, Another John
wrote:
....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.

I used to do the same, except there was a real risk that my
step-ladder would fall through the hedge because the individual plants
are too far apart. So tied a length of plank across the top to spread
the load. Nowadays I use a long-reach trimmer and the step-ladder is
no longer necessary.

I like the plank (or at least - batten) idea!

I have a long reach hedge trimmer: it's an electric Ryobi one. Weighs a
ton when it's actually doing its thing, i.e. extended. I lent it to my
neighbour last year: he's an ex-rugby player and thinks it's fine.... I
don't miss it!

And yes - good point about the birds, Andy. I never cut my headges
between March and the end of June.

John

On Sun, 21 May 2017 16:21:01 Ermin Trude wrote:

On Sun, 21 May 2017 21:37:30 +0100, David Rance wrote:

Reading about the support here for long-reach hedge trimmers, and
starting to think now that it's something I need, what are the
recommendations for a make. I have quite a long hedge of "charme" (which
can be quite tough) in France - I don't know what the name is in
English.

I use Mitox tools for most things when I need petrol power (leaf/snow
blower; hedge cutter, lopper, strimmer). Mitox do a multi-attachment
which means that once you have the power unit the accessories can be
bought as required.

Others curse Mitox. My experience is good though.

If you want to go really professional then Stihl would be my manufacturer
of choice.

I know the merits of Stihl and Husqvarna as I already have some of their
tools (and with which, I may say, I am very satisfied). But I was hoping
that someone could give me a recommendation based on personal use and
not all tools by any one manufacturer are necessarily equally good.

Based on your advocacy of Mitox I looked to see what feedback Amazon
customers have given, but Amazon have only just started supplying them
this month (7th May) and, in fact, they have none in stock! Either
they're so good that they sold out immediately or they haven't stocked
up yet!

David

--
David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK

On 22/05/17 11:28, David Rance wrote:
On Sun, 21 May 2017 16:21:01 Ermin Trude wrote:

On Sun, 21 May 2017 21:37:30 +0100, David Rance wrote:

Reading about the support here for long-reach hedge trimmers, and
starting to think now that it's something I need, what are the
recommendations for a make. I have quite a long hedge of "charme" (which
can be quite tough) in France - I don't know what the name is in
English.

I use Mitox tools for most things when I need petrol power (leaf/snow
blower; hedge cutter, lopper, strimmer). Mitox do a multi-attachment
which means that once you have the power unit the accessories can be
bought as required.

Others curse Mitox. My experience is good though.

If you want to go really professional then Stihl would be my manufacturer
of choice.

I know the merits of Stihl and Husqvarna as I already have some of their
tools (and with which, I may say, I am very satisfied). But I was hoping
that someone could give me a recommendation based on personal use and
not all tools by any one manufacturer are necessarily equally good.

Based on your advocacy of Mitox I looked to see what feedback Amazon
customers have given, but Amazon have only just started supplying them
this month (7th May) and, in fact, they have none in stock! Either
they're so good that they sold out immediately or they haven't stocked
up yet!

I got a Titan (Screwfix own-brand) last year, but it seems to have
disappeared from their inventory. It's the one shown he
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLLD4FQHKcc

I've only used it a few times, and it does the job, although it is heavy
and awkward. I would guess that all electric long-reach trimmers are
similar in this respect.

--

Jeff

In article ,
says...

On 21/05/2017 21:37, David Rance wrote:
On Sun, 21 May 2017 21:16:58 Chris Hogg wrote:

On Sun, 21 May 2017 20:08:11 +0100, Another John
wrote:

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.


I used to do the same, except there was a real risk that my
step-ladder would fall through the hedge because the individual plants
are too far apart. So tied a length of plank across the top to spread
the load. Nowadays I use a long-reach trimmer and the step-ladder is
no longer necessary.

Reading about the support here for long-reach hedge trimmers, and
starting to think now that it's something I need, what are the
recommendations for a make. I have quite a long hedge of "charme" (which
can be quite tough) in France - I don't know what the name is in English.

David


They are good but do be aware that they can play havoc with your
shoulders if you over do it, so never use for long stretches of time,

I would recommend anyone planning to buy a garden power tool to HIRE
ONE FIRST to test out your own stamina and strength when using it.

BITGOD I used to cut and lay hedges the traditional way by hand.
For the past 15 years I've tended ours with a relatively light, short-
blade electric hedge cutter because it's what I can comfortably carry
and operate at the height of our hedges.

A bigger blade/heavier/long reach machine would do the job much faster
but these days I just don't have the upper body strength/back
flexibility to support more weight/longer reach.

We've lowered the hedges, which helps. When I can no longer reach them
or use this machine safely I shan't replace it; that will be the time to
hire a hedge cutting contractor :-)

Janet

On 22/05/2017 13:10, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 22/05/17 11:28, David Rance wrote:
On Sun, 21 May 2017 16:21:01 Ermin Trude wrote:

On Sun, 21 May 2017 21:37:30 +0100, David Rance wrote:

Reading about the support here for long-reach hedge trimmers, and
starting to think now that it's something I need, what are the
recommendations for a make. I have quite a long hedge of "charme"
(which
can be quite tough) in France - I don't know what the name is in
English.

I use Mitox tools for most things when I need petrol power (leaf/snow
blower; hedge cutter, lopper, strimmer). Mitox do a multi-attachment
which means that once you have the power unit the accessories can be
bought as required.

Others curse Mitox. My experience is good though.

If you want to go really professional then Stihl would be my
manufacturer
of choice.

I know the merits of Stihl and Husqvarna as I already have some of their
tools (and with which, I may say, I am very satisfied). But I was hoping
that someone could give me a recommendation based on personal use and
not all tools by any one manufacturer are necessarily equally good.

Based on your advocacy of Mitox I looked to see what feedback Amazon
customers have given, but Amazon have only just started supplying them
this month (7th May) and, in fact, they have none in stock! Either
they're so good that they sold out immediately or they haven't stocked
up yet!

I got a Titan (Screwfix own-brand) last year, but it seems to have
disappeared from their inventory. It's the one shown he
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLLD4FQHKcc

I've only used it a few times, and it does the job, although it is heavy
and awkward. I would guess that all electric long-reach trimmers are
similar in this respect.

I have a Stihl strimmer with the hedge cutting attachment, it is a
little heavy but I cut till I'm feeling my arms ache then I stop and
clear up, then cut again, works for me and I'm in my 70's.
Just remember if you cut the top flay then you will have problems
removing the trimmings, I cut the top to about 45 degrees.
David @ a sunny side of Swansea bay

On Mon, 22 May 2017 13:10:06 Jeff Layman wrote:

On 22/05/17 11:28, David Rance wrote:
On Sun, 21 May 2017 16:21:01 Ermin Trude wrote:

On Sun, 21 May 2017 21:37:30 +0100, David Rance wrote:

Reading about the support here for long-reach hedge trimmers, and
starting to think now that it's something I need, what are the
recommendations for a make. I have quite a long hedge of "charme" (which
can be quite tough) in France - I don't know what the name is in
English.

I use Mitox tools for most things when I need petrol power (leaf/snow
blower; hedge cutter, lopper, strimmer). Mitox do a multi-attachment
which means that once you have the power unit the accessories can be
bought as required.

Others curse Mitox. My experience is good though.

If you want to go really professional then Stihl would be my manufacturer
of choice.
I know the merits of Stihl and Husqvarna as I already have some of
their
tools (and with which, I may say, I am very satisfied). But I was hoping
that someone could give me a recommendation based on personal use and
not all tools by any one manufacturer are necessarily equally good.
Based on your advocacy of Mitox I looked to see what feedback Amazon
customers have given, but Amazon have only just started supplying them
this month (7th May) and, in fact, they have none in stock! Either
they're so good that they sold out immediately or they haven't stocked
up yet!

I got a Titan (Screwfix own-brand) last year, but it seems to have
disappeared from their inventory. It's the one shown he
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLLD4FQHKcc

I've only used it a few times, and it does the job, although it is
heavy and awkward. I would guess that all electric long-reach trimmers
are similar in this respect.

Thanks to you and Chris for mentioning the Titan. It certainly looks
workmanlike. We have three Screwfix depots in Reading, all of which have
Titans in stock. I'll go and have a look.

David

--
David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK

On Mon, 22 May 2017 13:40:09 Janet wrote:

In article ,
says...

On 21/05/2017 21:37, David Rance wrote:
On Sun, 21 May 2017 21:16:58 Chris Hogg wrote:

On Sun, 21 May 2017 20:08:11 +0100, Another John
wrote:

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.


I used to do the same, except there was a real risk that my
step-ladder would fall through the hedge because the individual plants
are too far apart. So tied a length of plank across the top to spread
the load. Nowadays I use a long-reach trimmer and the step-ladder is
no longer necessary.

Reading about the support here for long-reach hedge trimmers, and
starting to think now that it's something I need, what are the
recommendations for a make. I have quite a long hedge of "charme" (which
can be quite tough) in France - I don't know what the name is in English.


They are good but do be aware that they can play havoc with your
shoulders if you over do it, so never use for long stretches of time,

I would recommend anyone planning to buy a garden power tool to HIRE
ONE FIRST to test out your own stamina and strength when using it.

Good advice!

David

--
David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK

On Mon, 22 May 2017 12:29:52 Chris Hogg wrote:

(Google Translate give hornbeam as one of the translations of charme)

Ah, yes! Now you come to mention it I do remember looking it up in my
Collins-Robert some years ago. Thanks for reminding me!

David

--
David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK