"ned" wrote in message ...
alan kearn wrote:

snip

Ned
i trim the hedge with the hedge cutters twice a year but it still
increases in height a few inches a year, so every few years i cut
back
on this extra growth, this keeps it within easy reach for my twice
yearly trim.


Alan
Ah, that sounds better. :-)
'Must say that I am quite proud of my hedge top.
'Might not be able to play snooker on it, but it is flat and very
compact.
I always try to trim down to last year's cut and clear off all the
clippings as I go. I hope my neighbour appreciates it. He can see the
result from his upstairs windows. I can't. Although I have been
tempted to step back off my platform to admire my work. ;-)
I did allow a 'professional' to trim the hedge one year and was so
apalled at his standards that I wouldn't let another near it again.

Ned
when you have the hedge cut back two feet it looks terrible from
above for a few months but eventually it fills in with new growth

Alan

i trim the hedge with the hedge cutters twice a year but it still
increases in height a few inches a year, so every few years i cut
back
Try using "rugby posts" made by taping a crossbar on two upright bamboos. I
use this to keep my Leylandii hedge to a uniform 7 foot on a sloping gatden.
I cut twice a year (never when birds are nesting) and the hedge is as dense
and luxuriant as the wife's beard.....

(Nick Maclaren) wrote:

Hello Nick

| posted earlier, a hedge trimmer is unlikely to more than
| make a mess of your leg, and one of the reasons is that
| it will stop faster than a chainsaw (and in comparable
| time to a reciprocating saw). But almost all of them
| still run for long enough to be going when they impact
| your leg. RTFM

NM That's what it says, and I can confirm from experience that
NM it is right. OK?

FWIW, I think you're right. Mine's a modern small petrol trimmer by
Jonsered and definately has no dead-mans hand (other than a standard
2-lever throttle), no emergency stop and has a "half choke" setting
for when it's cold that increased tickover speed to such an extent
that the bar is moving even at idle.

Electric ones are very different, and some have electronic braking
which is /good/ but it ain't instant.

Imo, a tool worthy of respect, but as you say it's certainly a lot
safer than a chainsaw. No kickback, no exposed cutting edge that cuts
on three sides, smaller engines.

--
Simon Avery, Dartmoor, UK Ý http://www.digdilem.org/

Kay Easton wrote:

Hello Kay

KE I now notice that you can get cordless hedgetrimmer, which
KE seem a much better option (my cordless drill is really nice
KE to use compared to my husbands heavy, albeit more powerful,
KE corded model).

Unless you have a *tiny* hedge, don't. They're heavier than mains
powered ones, more expensive, don't have nearly the same power, speed
or effectiveness of cut and they only last a year or two before the
batteries die.

Even if it is a tiny hedge, old-fashioned hand-powered ones are
probably better.

--
Simon Avery, Dartmoor, UK Ý http://www.digdilem.org/