This undated photo shows a tall hedge being trimmed in New Paltz, New York. The pole trimmer makes it easier and safer to trim high places. Lee Reich via AP
Two thousand years ago, the Roman writer Columella described vintoria falx, a six-part special grape pruning tool. The tool must have caused a sensation among Roman grape growers when it was first introduced!
In pruning in the last century or so, the most recent innovation is the pole-type trimmer, which is a pruning saw or rope-type shear blade mounted on the end of a pole. With it, you can even work on 15-foot-tall branches, while your feet can be planted on the ground.
This is perfect for people like me who don't like to work on ladders.
My pole pruning shears are covered by saw blades and shear blades, which makes the pruning shears not as beautiful as Columella's six-piece tools, but still very useful.
The main problem with pole-type pruning shears is that it is difficult to manipulate the blade at the end of the long pole. This problem is more complicated with larger branches because they require an initial undercut to prevent the bark from tearing when it falls; to make the undercut, you must resist gravity.
Enter the electric pole-type pruning shears, which is an innovation of the 21st century. The tool is essentially a chainsaw at the end of a telescopic rod. In some models, the motor or engine is mounted on the top of the pole, close to the chain. In other cases, the motor or engine is located at the bottom of the rod, where you hold the tool, and the rotational movement is transmitted up the rod to the chain at the end.
When you install the chainsaw on the end of the pole, compromise is inevitable. For example, the trade-off between weight and power.
The electric pole pruning shears may reduce some of your effort when cutting, but you will have to position and lift the electric saw at the far end of the long pole. If you make the saw lighter, it means less power. The cutting strips on these saws are usually less than a foot long.
Electric motors are lighter than gasoline engines, so they provide another solution to the weight problem. The battery power seems ideal, but the battery power is limited. A corded utility pole trimmer seems to be a good compromise, as long as you are not too far from the plug and have a good extension cord.
A variant of the pole pruning shears caused a sensation, at least in my backyard. That is the electric pole hedge trimmer, a swing trimmer installed at the end of the pole. They can also be gasoline or electric.
Why put a hedge trimmer at the end of the pole? Of course, for tall hedges! A nice feature of most pole hedge trimmers is that the angle of the head can be changed, which is a useful feature if you trim the top of a high hedge to be flat.
Like a stone wall or a brick wall, a large hedge creates a bold and solemn shape, covering and enclosing the landscape, guiding our eyes and feet through it. Since I got a pole-type hedge trimmer, I have been able to carve my 9-foot tall tea begonia hedge into a green wall with a "doorway" engraved on it-my feet are happily planted on the ground.
Lee Reich regularly writes articles about gardening for the Associated Press. He has authored many books, including "Planting Figs in Cold Climates" and "Pruning Books". He blogs at http://www.leereich.com/blog. You can contact him at Garden@leereich.com.
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