When you buy a new hedge trimmer you automatically think of using it to trim hedges don’t you? After all that is what it is named for and that is the main use for it. But this isn’t the end of its uses, as you will soon discover.
There are several bushes you can have in your garden that could benefit equally well from a trim with one of these hedge trimmers. Ideally you don’t want anything too big to handle in this situation, because a bush requires you to cut in anything but a straight line. As you can imagine, the larger the bush is the more difficult it can be to trim it with a pair of hand shears.
But just because the hedge trimmer can make the whole task a lot faster to do, it doesn’t mean you should rush through it. Remember that as with a hedge, you are better off skimming off a small amount of foliage first before you go further. See what that looks like and then consider taking off more if you wish. This is by far the best way to continue: otherwise you could find yourself with a small and straggly looking bush that you will then have to wait to grow again.
When you do this you should also be sure to trim in small sections. Watch out for dead twigs and sections of the bush as well. Depending on the size of the bush and the amount of dead material you find, you may wish to cut out the dead bits with a pair of hand shears or clippers. This will prevent you from taking off too much and getting rid of the healthy leaves and sections of the bush as well.
Always adhere to the care instructions and guidelines for the particular type of bush you have as well. Some can happily be trimmed back whenever you like but others are a little more refined and should only be trimmed back at certain points.
There is no doubt that having a hedge trimmer can come in extremely handy in more than one situation in the garden though. By focusing on using it wisely and in more than one area if you have bushes as well as hedges, you can make light work of what would otherwise take you ages to complete. Doesn’t that sound ideal to you?