Hedge trimmers vs. hedge shears. What do you need? It depends on your farm. If you’re focused on raising livestock, maybe not. But if you’re a gardener and want to maintain lovely hedges and shrubs, you’ll want a tool to keep them tidy.
Hedge shears or a hedge trimmer can do the trick. But what are the differences, and which will best suit your needs? Let’s determine whether you need hedge shears or a hedge trimmer on your farm:
What are hedge shears?
Also known as hedge clippers, hedge shears are a hand tool a lot like pruning loppers, but with long, scissor-like cutting blades. They’re designed for shaping and maintaining hedges, shrubs, bushes—really any plant where you need to quickly trim a bunch of small branches to similar lengths.
Hedge shears are lightweight, relatively inexpensive, and simple to use (no power source is needed, only your muscles). But they can be tiring to use if you have a large number of hedges, shrubs, and bushes that need maintenance.
What is a hedge trimmer?
A hedge trimmer is a powered machine that uses long blades with teeth to perform the trimming. All you have to do is engage the power and maneuver the blades with care, and the hedge trimmer will do all the cutting for you.
Hedge trimmers come in many sizes and designs. Whereas the blade length on hedge shears might be six inches, the blades of a hedge trimmer might be 18 inches or 24 inches, allowing you to cut much more at once. In addition, there are poll-mounted hedge trimmers that enable you to cut at heights you wouldn’t be able to reach with hedge shears, at least not without climbing up a ladder.
Hedge trimmers can be powered by a variety of sources. Gas hedge trimmers use a small gasoline engine, which provides ample power and a quick way to refuel, but comes with the downside of weight, noise, and engine maintenance.
Corded electric hedge trimmers run off electricity supplied through a suitable extension cord. They’re lightweight, quiet, emission-free, and easy to start, but mobility is limited by being tethered to the extension cord, and you’ll give up some power compared to a gasoline hedge trimmer.
Battery-powered hedge trimmers eliminate the mobility issues of corded hedge trimmers while offering many of the same benefits. But if your battery runs dry, you’ll have to recharge it before you can resume trimming.
Be sure to note the spacing between the blade teeth on a hedge trimmer. This spacing (3/4-inch, one-inch, etc.) determines the thickest branches the hedge trimmer can cut.
Do you need hedge shears or a hedge trimmer?
If you don’t have long hedges to maintain and are looking more at shaping a few small shrubs, hedge shears might be all you need. Their simplicity and low cost is appealing if you’ll only be using them infrequently.
But if you have your sights set on maintaining a beautiful English garden full of hedges, or if you have a lot of shrubs and bushes you want to tidily shape, hedge trimmers may be worth the extra cost. You’ll appreciate how they save you the repetitive physical exertion of operating hedge shears, and your trimming tasks can be completed faster using the longer, powered blades.
This article about hedge trimmers and hedge shears was written for Hobby Farms magazine. Click here to subscribe.
