What are hedge shears?
Hedge shears look a lot like large scissors with a pair of long, straight blades. They are designed to cut as many plants as possible in one clearing. When you trim your shrubs with hedge shears, they create long, sharp edges on what you cut. This makes them perfect for maintaining rectangular hedges.
However, hedge shears are not very good at shaping shrubs and plants with strong woody branches and stems. Because hedge shears are suited for cutting soft stems, their blades are damaged when used on hard wood. They can also create imperfect cuts on plants.
Hedge shears are somewhat limited by what they can cut and are primarily used for soft, non-woody stems. But you shouldn’t underestimate their usefulness. Because hedge shears can cut plants so quickly, they are one of the main tools that every beginning gardener should have.
In this article, let’s take a look at three uses for hedge shears in the garden.
1 – Maintaining a straight-edged hedge
Hedge shears are ideal for maintaining straight hedges.
As mentioned above, hedge shears are suitable for cutting long, straight lines. Their design is suitable for trimming geometric designs and straight lines to create “boxy” shapes. If you want to trim your hedges and prefer a long, manual design, hedge shears are a great choice. Since these large plant shears can cut long, straight lines in one motion, the professional gardener’s job of shaping the shrubs will be done in no time.
However, if you prefer a more rounded, natural-looking hedge, you should avoid using hedge shears. It is almost impossible to achieve a rounded effect with these long, straight blades.
2 – Cutting back perennials
Hedge shears can also be used to cut back perennials.
Perennials are long-lived and can grow indefinitely, expanding their territory in a matter of months. Overgrown perennials can look messy and cover other slow-growing plants nearby, blocking them from sunlight. Hedge shears can effectively manage their growth by trimming regularly throughout the year. This will keep them looking neat and allow delicate plants to compete for sunlight.
Shears are most effective when pruning soft plants such as catnip and lilies, which requires little effort to do. Despite the imprecision of the shears, you don’t have to worry too much about being completely precise when pruning perennials. These plants will quickly grow up and hide any unnatural cuts you make, making your garden look great again.
3 – Other general hedge shear uses
Thanks to the considerable cutting force produced by the sizable blades, hedge shears can cut down most soft-stemmed plants. If accuracy is important, you may have to spend some time, but if you just need to get rid of excess growth, the job can be done in a matter of minutes.
Hedge shears can be used to manage greenery, as they can successfully cut most plants in the garden. Hedge shears with long blades can easily cut off troublesome plants, even stems that are hidden in large bushes and hard to reach.
At SINOTOOLS, we offer a wide variety of pruning tools to build and maintain our customers’ dream gardens. We are always happy to discuss your requirements, get in touch with us and we will be happy to help.
