Hedge trimmers

Buying a hedge trimmer

Powered hedge trimmers can
save you lots of time

A powered hedge trimmer makes hedge maintenance a much quicker and easier job than with traditional shears, especially if you have anything more than a small hedge to keep under control.

Choosing the right hedge trimmer depends mainly on the amount of hedging you have to maintain but there are many products to choose from and additional considerations.

This guide explains what to look for when buying a hedge trimmer and helps make sure you get the right one. We also list models and prices from across the internet so you can compare hedge trimmers in one easy place.

Blade length
Trimmer weight
Teeth spacing
Petrol hedgetrimmers
Electric hedgetrimmers
Battery hedgetrimmers
Where to buy hedgetrimmers
Top products

Blade length

The length of blade to choose depends on how much hedging you have to maintain. Longer blades cut more hedging faster so are suitable for those with extensive hedging. They also allow you to reach further back when trimming the tops of hedges. The down side of a longer blade is that the trimmers are heavier and become more unwieldy.

Longer blades are suitable for large amounts of hedging

Generally speaking, a blade of about 35cm (14") will suffice for normal garden use. For much more hedging a 60cm (24") or longer blade hedge is recommended. Hedge trimmer blades are available in lengths ranging from 32cm (13") to a giant 75cm (30").

Trimmer weight

A combination of the length of the blades and the weight will dictate how manoeuvrable a hedge trimmer is. As well as having to lift a hedge trimmer all the time it is in use you need to move it around, angling the blades with the contour of your hedge. With this in mind, it's important the weight is comfortable for you.

A weight of 3kgs for a hedge trimmer is considered light and usually found on the electric models. You will be looking at a weight around the 5kgs mark for a petrol model.

Teeth spacing

Browsing the hedge trimmers available you will find that they list the spacing of the teeth. These vary from around 15mm (1/2") to 34mm (1.5")

Trimmer blades have spaced teeth, the spacing varies from model to model

Teeth spacing affects what size branches you can cut

Hedgetrimmers with wider teeth spacing leave a rougher finish than those with narrow spacing but they can cut through thicker branches. Because this requires more power you won't find really wide teeth on the less powerful models.

Because hedgetrimmers with narrow teeth can't cut through thicker branches they're more suitable for hedges which are regularly trimmed and which don't have time to generate established growth between trimmings.

Remember a trimmer is not a chainsaw and is really only designed to cut through thin branches and twigs.

Petrol hedge trimmers

Petrol hedge trimmers are great for the bigger jobs and more frequent use as they are more powerful and don't have any cables to plug in or drag around. Some of the downsides are the inconvenience of filling it with petrol, the heftier price tags and the increased noise they generate.

They do have the advantage that they can be used in wet conditions which is not recommended for electric hedge trimmers.

If you use a petrol hedge trimmer, it's recommended that you wear ear protection.

Electric hedge trimmers

Electric hedge trimmers are extremely convenient but make sure that the cord length is going to be adequate to get to your hedges.

If you are only going to be doing the occasional trim or small hedges and twigs then you don't have to pay too much attention to the power of the motor. However, if you are going to be pushing your trimmer you should look for a motor with more more watts or consider a petrol trimmer.

Battery hedge trimmers

Battery powered trimmers are ideal for occasional and light use but make sure the battery charge time and and run time is sensible. With charge times of up to 6 hours and run times of less than 1 it would be very frustrating to run out of juice half way through your hedge.

Single vs. double action blades

Trimmers come in either single-action or double-action models. Both have a pair of blades but on the double-action models both blades move - in opposite directions to each other. On single-action hedge trimmers one of the blades is stationary while the other moves.

Don't confuse single-action with single-sided. Single-sided means only one side of the blade has teeth.

Double-action blades tend to be more effective, and because the blades are moving in opposite directions they cancel out most of each other's vibration - a major concern if you're using a hedge trimmer for an extended length of time.