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Hedge Trimming 101: How to Get Your Shrubs Spring-Ready

Well-kept shrubs and hedges can do a lot to enhance your home landscape design. Neglecting them, however, will cause your home to look unkempt and may have a negative impact on the health of your plants. Many homeowners put off tasks like pruning and hedge trimming because they worry that they do not know how to do the job properly, and don’t feel like expending the effort on something that could do more harm than good. In reality, hedge trimming is a job for anyone up to the task. All you need are the right tools and a little time to understand some of the finer points of hedge trimming. Adding a battery-powered hedge trimmer to your toolkit is a sure-fire way to ensure your greenery will be in tip-top shape whenever you need.  

When to use a Hedge Trimmer:

The first thing you need to understand is the right time of year to trim your hedges and shrubs. If you’re working with your standard non-flowering shrubs, you want to do most of your trimming after the new growth has formed. For plants with Spring-blooming flowers, you should do your trimming after they bloom. When trimming plants with flowers that bloom in the Summer, look to maintain them in late Winter or early Spring. In addition to the annual trimming where you do most of your maintenance and shaping, you are also going to want to do some periodic trimming to help the shrubs and hedges maintain their shape.

Choosing the Right Hedge Trimmer:

Having the right trimming tools can make a significant difference when it comes to the amount of time and effort you put into the task. It also impacts the quality of the results you get. At a minimum, you are going to need a set of handheld pruners to perform the pruning. However, if you have thick branches that need to be cut, it can help to have a set of loppers, a small one handed pruning saw or even a Multi-Purpose Reciprocating Jigsaw. For trimming, you have the choice of using hedge shears or an electric or battery powered hedge trimmer. Some people still prefer the old manual hand shears, but there are several advantages to using electric or battery powered hedge trimmers. Cordless (battery-powered) hedge trimmers will make the job easier to achieve cleaner, straighter cuts, in less time. For most homes, the WORX 20V Cordless Hedge Trimmer is an ideal option. A big advantage of using a battery-powered hedge trimmer is the fact it’s well balanced and lightweight, making it easy to handle for both top trimming and side trimming. The 20V POWERSHARE Battery offers a runtime that should be more than enough for clipping the hedges on most residential properties. If you have a large garden to maintain then the WORX 40V (2 x 20V) Hedge Trimmer with its large 60cm cutting length, 27mm cutting capacity & dual laser blades will do the trick. If you are lucky enough to have lovely lush, high hedge and trees, the WORX 20V Pole Pruning Chainsaw & Hedge Trimmer Kit could be a great investment for years to come.

Pruning with a Hedge Trimmer:

Start your pruning by removing any branches that are dead, damaged, or diseased. After that, look at the hedge to identify any branches that you want to remove. Generally, you are going to look for branches that do not conform to the desired shape. You should also use your cordless hedge trimmer or check out the WORX 20V Zen Shrub Shear & Grass Shear Kit to remove any small offshoots that are growing near the base of the shrub. They can take nutrients away from the rest of the limbs and impact the overall quality of the growth on the rest of the plant.

Hedge Trimming 101:

Start by using your cordless hedge trimmer to cut the sides near the bottom and gradually work your way to the top. Remember, you want to make sure light can get to the lower portions of the hedge. For that reason, you should try to achieve a slight angle with the base of the shrub being slightly wider than the top. To cut the sides, you just want to turn the blades of your battery powered hedge trimmer, so they are working vertically instead of horizontally. The WORX 40V (2 x 20V) Hedge Trimmer  features a rotating rear handle and full wrap front handle which makes vertical or angle cutting very easy.

For small to medium size hedges, you could cut the top by simply holding the cutting blades of your battery powered hedge clippers straight and working your way across the top. For longer hedges, you are going to want to have a guide to ensure straight cuts. If the hedges are near the house, you could use the siding or some other object as a cutting guide. If not, you can set up stakes at either end of the hedge and run a string line at the desired height.

There are two keys to good hedge trimming: Let the cordless hedge trimmer do the work – don’t force the blades into the shrub. Second, don’t try to trim everything away all at once. Instead, make shallow passes over the hedge and work your way down to the desired height.  

Get ready for Spring with the best hedge trimmers and garden tools: Shop WORX Australia now!

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