I may not like a manicured garden but I do think a pleached hedge needs to be neat. Ours was looking decidedly shaggy and had finally reached a size where going over it with secateurs was not going to be enough – and we wouldn’t have been able to reach the top. So, an invitation to trial the Stihl Cordless Hedge Trimmer was timely. (I was sent one to trial, free of charge.)
The hornbeam ‘hedge on stilts’ was suggested by a designer friend, who laid out our kitchen garden, as a way of dividing it from the main garden while still allowing views through. We trained it from whips as we baulked at the cost of buying in bigger trees that were part-trained. It’s taken several years but the hedge is now a reasonable size.
The kit we received from Stihl was comprehensive – aside from the hedge trimmer, there was a safety helmet with ear protectors and visor, a pair of safety glasses and protective gloves. There was also a battery and charger. I’d previously tested one of Stihl’s battery operated lawnmowers, so was interested to see if the hedge cutter was as good. (Read my review here.)
The hedge trimmer itself was easy to assemble although the instructions for the helmet weren’t particularly clear and we found it was easier to copy an old helmet we had.
The model we trialled was one of the long reach versions, which meant the sides of the hedge were easily reached from the ground – no need to balance on a ladder.
The machine was robust, and well constructed but still reasonably light – definitely lighter than a petrol machine – and well weighted, making it easy to manoeuvre. Even so, it was my OH who wielded it as the hedge trimmer is as big as me. It was also quiet, almost making the ear defenders unnecessar, another real advantage over a petrol model.
A ladder was needed to reach the top. (We used the Henchman ladder I’ve previously trialled, read about it here.) This is where the ability to angle the cutting blade was a real benefit.
The blade cut through the hornbeam easily, even some of the bigger branches, and was so much quicker than using secateurs.
The finished result was a definite improvement on the shaggy look. The hedge still needs to thicken up in places and that will allow us to cut it back a bit harder. We were also unable to deal with the hedge on the other side of the greenhouse thanks to nesting pigeons!
Effective and easy to use, we were impressed with the hedge trimmer. In fact, the hardest part of the whole operation was picking up the bits of hedge afterwards.
The HLA 56 cordless long reach hedge trimmer has an RRP of £235 for the tool only. The hedge trimmer, AK 20 battery and charger have an RRP of £382.50 Read more about the Stihl cordless hedge trimmer on the website.
You can read more of my product reviews here.
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