About Hedge Trimmers

Hedge trimmers are a type of landscaping tool that is used for pruning and shaping bushes and hedges. They are traditionally powered by gasoline or electricity, and are used as a supplement for or in tandem with pruning shears.

Significance

In aesthetic gardening and landscaping, the most common type of hedge trimmer used is the hand held hedge trimmer. Also called a stand-alone trimmer, hand held trimmers are commonly powered by gasoline as it is the most mobile fuel source. Electric and man-powered trimmers are also available. The handheld hedge trimmer is a moderately lightweight machine that is held by both hands and features a long arm metal arm with rotating pointed teeth, similar to a chain saw. The hedge trimmer is dragged lightly across the bush or hedge to cut back overgrown areas or to create shape in the plant.

Features

Hedge trimmers are used as agricultural tools as well, and the most common type used with crops is the tractor mounted hedge trimmer. Designed to sit protruding from the seat of a farm tractor, these hedge trimmers are used to prune or shear crop plants. Tractor based hedge trimmers are popular among vineyard farmers, as there is a special model that is specifically built to maneuver easily around the delicate and winding arms of grape vines.

Size

Hedge trimmers have many benefits for farmers and aesthetic landscapers alike. One benefit is the quickness a plant may be trimmed or sheared compared to the previous means of trimming a plant with pruning shears. Similarly, there is much less physical effort involved in trimming with a hedge trimmer, as opposed to constant opening and closing arm motion needed to make manual shears cut.

Considerations

However, hedge trimmers lack the accuracy and attention to detail achieved with pruning shears. The large rotating blade is wonderful for shaping a large area of a plant, but is a poor choice to perform a touch up or remove a few small branches.

Potential

Hedge trimmers are used extensively in the artistic field of topiary sculpting. Topiaries are shrubs, trees and hedges that have been formed into distinctive, non-plant shapes, like letter, dinosaurs, or animals. Topiary artists use hedge trimmers to help define the basic shape of their sculpture before detailing it with manual trimmers or smaller hedge trimmers. Labyrinths are also considered part of topiary art and hedge trimmers are used to maintain the large plant walls.