Hedge trimmers: Shaping your hedge

Whether you wish to cut privacy hedges, boundary hedges, decorative hedges or particularly high hedges - IKRA telescopic hedge trimmers are your perfect companion when shaping or cutting back. In fact, you can easily reach hedges with heights of up to four metres with the telescopic hedge trimmers.

You can reliably and precisely trim any hedge into shape with the sharp cutters of the hedge trimmer. The rotating handle provides support when carrying out precision horizontal and vertical cuts. Long-pole hedge trimmers can be adjusted in height and are particularly light thanks to the fibreglass and aluminium pole. Your arms and shoulders will thank you.

The hedge can be very easily trimmed as the hedge trimmers are extremely light. Our lightweight Ultralight hedge trimmers are a real revolution amongst electrical hedge trimmers here. With a total weight of 1.9 kg, the ultralight FHS 1545 hedge trimmer is the lightest electric hedge trimmer in the world with 2-hand safety switching. The Do-It-Yourself magazine SELBST assessed the German-made "Ultralight" with the classification "VERY GOOD". Customers are impressed with the hedge trimmer.

Discover in this section also our high quality & accurate Tonino Lamborghini Hedge Trimmers (Made in Germany).

For clean hedge trimming: Hedge trimmers from IKRA

Hedges can be considered a "living fence", which can be used for privacy, to provide shade, to mark boundaries or as noise protection. Privacy hedges can be planted at the side of neighbouring plots or at the edge of the street. On busy streets, e.g. main roads, the hedge can serve as protection from noise (road noise, noise from passers-by) and dirt (fine dust, vehicle exhaust gases). Hedges can also be used on the property itself, for example as decorative hedges or as demarcation hedges, e.g. to the garden or to the courtyard. Hedges such as privet, thuja, yew, false cypress or boxwood are popular plants for hedges. Hedges are so highly valued as plot boundaries as they are much more harmonious and friendly than fences or walls. With all of these hedges, regular shaping or trimming is very important to maintain the density of the hedge.

If you have hedges in your garden of if you are planning to plant a hedge, the hedge trimmers are indispensable tools for cutting and pruning. The cutting bar of the hedge trimmer is ideally suited for precision trimming and shaping of the hedge. Even the much-loved boxwood can be perfectly shaped with the practical hedge trimmers. Do you have a small boxwood hedge or boxwood tree as a decorative hedge in your garden, or very low hedges for bed demarcation, where the cutting bar of the hedge trimmer (ca. 45 - 60 cm) may be too powerful? Smaller shrub shears would also be a useful tool here. Shrub shears are significantly shorter (in the case of the IGBS 1054 LI for example, ca. 16 cm). These are good for the precision trimming of small decorative hedges and boxwoods. You can create clear contours and beautiful shapes on your hedges and boxwoods with hedge trimmers or shrub shears.

Further informations:

• Cutting length hedge trimmer
• Cutting length telescopic hedge trimmers
• Electric or cordless hedge trimmers
• Hedge trimmers for every hedge
• When is the right time for trimming the hedge?
• Difference between shaping cuts and cutting back
• Cutting shapes for hedges

Cutting length hedge trimmer

With particularly large hedges, on the other hand, the long hedge trimmer bar can be particularly advantageous as the work can be carried out quickly and expeditiously with this. The long cutting bar enables straight shapes and precise contours to be effortlessly cut into the privacy hedges, boundary hedges or decorative hedges. IKRA offers hedge trimmers with various cutting lengths:

• ca. 45 cm:
  • Electrical hedge trimmer IHS 550
  • Electrical Ultralight hedge trimmer FHS 1545
• ca. 50 cm:
  • Cordless hedge trimmer IAHS 20-5115
• ca. 55 cm:
  • Electrical hedge trimmers IHS 600 & IHS 650
  • Electrical Ultralight hedge trimmer FHS 1555
  • Cordless hedge trimmer IAHS 20-1
• ca. 60 cm:
  • Cordless hedge trimmer IAHS 40-5425

Cutting length telescopic hedge trimmers

The telescopic hedge trimmers are a great help if you have a particularly tall hedge for privacy or as a boundary to neighbours or to the street. You can easily reach all of the branches on the hedge, even up to ca. four metres in height, with this type of hedge trimmer. The telescopic pole is particularly light thanks to materials such as aluminium and fibreglass. This ensures that the work is not tiring for your shoulders and arms. The pole-mounted hedge trimmer is height-adjustable and so can be individually adjusted to your body size. An integral cutting angle adjustment also helps you to cut the top the hedge well (horizontal cutting). IKRA have a range of height-adjustable hedge trimmers in different lengths:

• ca. 40 cm: ITHK 800
• ca. 45 cm: ITHS 500
• ca. 50 cm: ITHS 600

Electric or cordless hedge trimmers

If you have a small property or rather if you have small hedges it is well worth purchasing an electric hedge trimmer. You should have an easily accessible power outlet on the property or in the house, for example an exterior power outlet on the terrace or an interior power outlet indoors. Otherwise, you will require an extension cable. Make sure that the extension power cable is suitable for exterior use and it should ideally be finished in a signal colour. The striking colour catches the eye and this prevents the cable being a trip hazard. Make sure that the cable is long enough. The cable should always lie loose on the ground and should not be taut when cutting the hedge. With an electric hedge trimmer you can work without interruption and with constant endurance as the energy comes directly from the mains. As the owner of the property you have perhaps ensured during the planning stage that exterior power outlets are provided at various points in the garden in order to be able to work easily with electric gardening tools, even on larger properties - limitless endurance from the mains.

Do you have a larger property or lots of hedges? Are the hedges perhaps hidden and hard to reach? If you want freedom of movement, a cordless hedge trimmer is advisable. The cordless hedge trimmer enables you to roam freely throughout your property without cables. This enables you to reach hidden spots and hedges that are far away, which are perhaps difficult to reach with a conventional extension cable. When you are cutting the street side of your hedge, cordless hedge trimmers are particularly useful. If you would like to trim a large number of hedges on a single day or if you wish to trim a very large boundary hedge, the purchase of a second rechargeable battery would be advisable. 40 Volt rechargeable batteries from the IKRA ONE FOR ALL rechargeable battery range are suitable for both the hedge trimmers and also other IKRA cordless gardening tools with the 40V symbol (e.g. lawn mowers, strimmers, chainsaws, etc.).

You are the best judge of whether an electrical or cordless hedge trimmer would be best for your hedge. Do you have a preference for cable or cordless? For either decision, we have the right hedge trimmers for you in our IKRA online shop.

Hedge trimmers for every hedge

Regardless of the hedge you choose for your privacy, as a boundary hedge or for your garden design, the hedge trimmer is your indispensable companion when lopping and shaping...

... with evergreen hedges (summer-green and winter-green):

Boxwood, thuja, yew, cherry laurel, photinia, Portuguese laurel, etc.

... with deciduous and colourful blooming hedges:

Hornbeam, privet, barberry, wild rose, astilbe, shrubby Cinquefoil, red summer spiraea, etc.

... with evergreen coniferous hedges:

European yew, occidental thuja, leyland cypress, false cypress, etc.

... with thorny hedges:

Firethorn hedge, photinia, barberry, etc.

How high should the hedge be? Should it be a low hedge, for example for demarcation of beds within your own property, should it be a medium hedge for privacy and property boundaries? Or, should it be a particularly tall hedge to serve as a shade provider or for noise protection? All types of hedges can be easily reached with IKRA hedge trimmers. Low and medium hedges are best cut with our classical electrical or cordless hedge trimmers. High hedges can be ideally reached with our telescopic hedge trimmers. Regardless of the hedge you choose, IKRA is always there to help and is your perfect partner for great hedge trimming results.

When is the right time for trimming the hedge?

With deciduous shrubs a shaping trim is recommended twice per year, with coniferous shrubs once per year. The first cut, the main shaping cut, is recommended in June for deciduous shrubs and the second cut, the light shaping and trimming cut, at the end of August. Coniferous shrubs should ideally be trimmed in May just before the hedge starts to sprout. If more severe cutting back is required, for example if the hedge has lost its preferred shape or if the hedge is simply too high, then it is advisable to carry out the trimming on a frost-free winter day (November to February). Note that it is not permitted to cut hedges back from March to September in order to protect birds and their nests. Deciduous shrubs can be cut all the way back to the older wood without any worries as they simply sprout from there anew. Coniferous shrubs on the other hand should not be cut back to the old wood as the old wood will produce very few sprouts or even none at all.

Depending on the hedge, you can trim your hedge either in the spring and in summer or at a particular point in time. One cut per year is enough for most plants such as barberry, hornbeam, thuja, privet, common beech or false cypress. Hedge maple or evergreen yew can be cut back twice per year and shrubs such as boxwood, that are held in shape with particular trimming techniques, even more often. Shrub shears are recommended for very small and low hedges and boxwoods.

When trimming at the start of the year, there should be no frost as if it is -5 °C or colder, the plant can be damaged as their shoots are brittle and fragile at such temperatures. After the trimming date, the shrubs or hedges require a certain amount of recovery time and then will only start to produce shoots properly in March. They may look somewhat "rumped" initially, but then afterwards will look well cared for.

From the end of August / start of September there should be no more trimming as this can result in new shoots that will not mature before autumn or winter and so can suffer from frost damage. As mentioned above, we recommend that more severe cutting back is carried out from October on frost-free days.

Shaping times

• Shaping deciduous hedges:
• 1st. cut / main shaping cut ca. June (e.g. St. John's day 24th. June)
• 2nd. cut / lighter shaping and care cut ca. August
• Boxwood: Regularly, frequent shaping cuts

• Shaping coniferous hedges:
• Shaping cut ca. May

Difference between shaping cuts and cutting back

With a shaping cut or care trimming, only the projecting branches will be pruned and so the hedge is trimmed "into shape", a tapered cut is advisable. Tapered cutting means that the branches rejuvenate from the bottom to the top. As a result the lower branches of the hedge also get better light and the hedge remains beautifully dense during growth. The tapered cut guarantees you an exceptional hedge.

The cutting back or clearing is a significantly more severe cut, a significant lopping of the hedge (e.g. "coppicing" = Cutting back to ca. 20-30cm, knee height) or the removal of a hedge. The removal would perhaps be required if the hedge no longer looks good or if you simply want to plant a different hedge or if you wish to make a change to your garden.

Cutting shapes for hedges

The correct cutting shape is critical for perfect care and healthy growth of the hedge:

Do not cut your hedge vertically, as this results in the lower branches getting too little sunlight. Ideally your hedge should be cut in a tapered shape, so, at an incline. The branches rejuvenate from the bottom to the top. As a result, the lower branches of your hedge also get better light and the hedge remains beautiful and dense during growth. Our tip for hedge trimming: Use the significantly better tapered shape when trimming your hedge and not the unfavourable, but still very common, box shape.

The hedge trimmers should always be held parallel to the hedge during trimming and the point of the blades should never be in the bush. If the latter method is used, this can result in small gaps in the hedge.

Ultralight Hedge Trimmer - lightest electric hedge trimmer in the world with 2-hand safety switching