Conifers - Hedge Trimmer

The_Wolfman

Hey Everyone

Well the list goes on and on. we have 64ft of conifers and the people who owned the house before us got a company in to trim the tops and sides for £70 per visit. They would get rid of all the rubbish.

I was thinking I may be able to get someone else to do it for cheaper or do it myself. Surely £70 would get a fairly decent trimmer.

Can anyone recommend a good trimmer or place to get the best bargain. or should I just get a man in???

Cheers

shown73

Surely anything that size would need a stonking hedge trimmer, and you have to get up there somehow, not to mention getting rid of all the rubbish. I trim mine with a motorised hedge trimmer twice a year, but they are only about 8feet high. Even so, it's hard work when you're not used to it. I don't think that a £70 hedge trimmer would be too effective on conifers, they're pretty tough, but it's worth getting another quote or two. You may get a surprise.

Jeannine

I assume you mean 64 ft in length!

I have / had exactly the same problem as you and as well as being long, my hedges are at least 6 feet deep. I have paid for someone to do it in the past, and it cost much more than £70 (including taking everything away), but I have just bought a Black and Decker electric hedge trimmer with a 63cm blade which also has a handle that extends another 40cm. It also cuts through thicker branches. So, I can do all the hedges myself, with the ladder (they're about 7-8ft tall at the moment) and save a lot of money! Almost worth the hassle!!

Mikeyorks

If they're tidy and only need a cosmetic trim, twice a year, DIY is an option. You'll certainly get a reasonable, but electric, trimmer for under £70. Then all you need is the time, a very stable set of steps (but preferably a platform) and the energy to get up all the cuttings and the capacity to get rid of them.

£70 is, IMHO, very cheap to do all of that?

If, on the other hand, they've got a bit out of control - you need a chain saw to take more than a few inches off the top! As the wood is tough as it comes and starts / propagates very close to the top. Had mine trimmed and 18in taken off the top last year - for £350. And that was a competitive quote for a 60 foot hedge and about 5 foot deep. Needed about 4 solid hours, with the chainsaw just to do the top, and the cuttings filled a 35cwt lorry.

If you do decide DIY (I'm going to do one trim cut that way - and get the guy back to do another heavier cut - at a much reduced price now the chainsaw is not needed!) - get an extendable trimmer. As it allows you to keep out of the cascade of cuttings in your face!

Debt_Free_Chick

The_Wolfman wrote:

Hey Everyone

Well the list goes on and on. we have 64ft of conifers and the people who owned the house before us got a company in to trim the tops and sides for £70 per visit. They would get rid of all the rubbish.

Bargain :j

I was thinking I may be able to get someone else to do it for cheaper or do it myself. Surely £70 would get a fairly decent trimmer.

Can anyone recommend a good trimmer or place to get the best bargain. or should I just get a man in???

Cheers

DIY is a PITA. However, I think you should borrow a trimmer and try the job once. That will soon tell you whether it's worth paying someone else £70 to do the job. I have a privet hedge and we pay £85 a trim, twice a year. There is no way I'd do that job for that money.

I can see your MSE thinking, but (IMHO) moneysaving is not the only motive - I happen to like living my life in a way that does not include trimming the hedge!! :rotfl:

The_Wolfman

shown73 wrote:

Surely anything that size would need a stonking hedge trimmer, and you have to get up there somehow, not to mention getting rid of all the rubbish. I trim mine with a motorised hedge trimmer twice a year, but they are only about 8feet high. Even so, it's hard work when you're not used to it. I don't think that a £70 hedge trimmer would be too effective on conifers, they're pretty tough, but it's worth getting another quote or two. You may get a surprise.

64ft in length :rotfl:

Its been trimmed before and is about 7ft high so might give it a go myself

shown73

May sound daft, but there are some conifers near me which are absolutely huge. They are in a hotels grounds, and have never been trimmed. They are now so big that they would need a cherry picker for access, I should think. By the way, tried to top mine off with a borrowed chainsaw once, but branches just bent away from it, and anyway, it's a bit dodgy up a ladder with a chainsaw. Hedgetrimmer is bad enough.

Mikeyorks

shown73 wrote:

anyway, it's a bit dodgy up a ladder with a chainsaw.

It is with my wife holding the ladder !!

That's why you have to have a platform with a chainsaw and why I 'happily' forked out £350 for mine to be topped. The tops certainly didn't get away from the chainsaw - until they were cut, when I had to retrieve some from the house roof! The furthest chunk was found some 30yds from the hedge.

Now it's topped - it's definitely staying that way!

amd

My hubby is a fully qualified, bona fide, 20yrs experience tree surgeon. He advises taking the tops down with a pair of long handled loppers rather than risking life and limb with a chainsaw - unless you absolutely know what you're doing. All pro chainsaw users MUST have a certificate these days. I have heard way too many stories to advise amateur use of these lethal weapons. Also, don't cut further back than into the 'green'. Conifers do not generally grow back from bare wood.

shown73

Tongue in cheek of course about 64foot high conifers, but the advice from AMD is very sound, and can I just add that proper eye protection is an absolute must for anyone using hedge-trimmers or chain saws. It's not that I'm trying to be patronising or pedantic, but I know a couple of people who have suffered the consequences of ignoring that one piece of common sense. It's not worth skimping the job, and eye protection is pretty cheap anyway.

devon-gnome

Once they are cut back, you could use one of these to keep them tidy;

http://www.crocus.co.uk/search/results/?ContentType=Product_Card&ClassID=2000002986&CategoryID=

I bought one at the full price and can't recommend them highly enough because now my trimming doesn't take long.

I have no link to this firm btw.