The humble hedge adds a lot to our gardens. Hedges bring privacy, reduce noise, and provide vital habitat for wildlife. However, as with many shrubs and plants, they require some maintenance. Hedge trimmers help you keep them neat without tiresome effort.
Most cordless models now run on batteries lasting between 30 to 70 minutes, enough for typical gardens. They also offer a good power-to-weight ratio. Petrol hedge trimmers deliver more force and longer sessions, but are heavier and harder to operate.
Electric corded models remove battery concerns, though the lead restricts range. For tall hedges and bushes, an extendable hedge trimmer will give you good reach, possibly even eliminating the need for a ladder altogether.
They range in price from just over £50 for entry-level brands like Gardena and Hawksmoor to £600 for professional-grade models from Mountfield. After putting market leaders to the test, here are my top picks:
The best hedge trimmers: At a glance
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How to choose the best hedge trimmer
When choosing the best hedge trimmer, first consider the task you need it for. As with lawn mowers, larger machines don’t make sense in small gardens. Compact trimmers, with cutting blades of around 40cm are suited for light tasks such as shaping small hedges and bushes. But if you have a big garden, or a long hedge, a long-bladed hedge trimmer will be more efficient.
Pay attention to the branches that you will normally trim. For thick branches, opt for a hedge trimmer with wide tooth spacing of around 30mm. Tools with closer tooth spacing will produce a more precise cut for softer foliage. Then, trusty secateurs can deal with the occasional larger branch.
Keep in mind the weight and run-time of your tool too. Often how long we can hold the tool for is more of a limiting factor than the battery life. Like with weeding tools, if you are small, don’t choose a large, heavy tool, but opt for something lightweight.
If you have particularly tall hedges, reaching from a ladder with a heavy tool can be dangerous. So, consider an extendable trimmer with a telescopic pole to make the job safer and more comfortable.
How we test hedge trimmers
As an ecologist, gardener and author of the book Grow a New Garden, I’m used to tending to all sorts of plants. And the only way to test hedge trimmers properly, is to get out and use them. I made myself popular by offering free hedge trimming services to my family, so that I could use each model on a range of hedges and bushes that matched the type of task they were designed for.
I tried smaller, close-toothed trimmers on shrubs such as camellia, pittosporum and hebes, using them to shape and trim the shrubs’ smaller branches and foliage. The larger hedge trimmers, with greater cutting capacity were tested on mixed species hedges that included hazel, beech, hawthorn, laurel, dogwood and holly. Finally, I tried extendable trimmers on tall bushes, cutting the tops and sides that would ordinarily be out of reach.
During testing I was looking for a machine that was comfortable to use, with a good balance of power to weight, sharp blades and that carried out its intended task easily and effectively. Each hedge trimmer was then scored for its design, performance, ease of use, power and blade.
I tested 10 hedge trimmers for this guide, but would only recommend the nine featured below.
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1. Best Buy: Worx Nitro WG263E 20v 56cm Cordless Hedge Trimmer,
