Pruning shrubs and topiary is an exhausting enterprise—particularly if it requires being perched on prime of a ladder or spending a whole day to finish the work. Massive hedge-trimmers are merely far too heavy and unwieldy, and—apologies to the purists—conventional topiary shears, too gradual for the impatient gardeners amongst us.
Which is why electrical shrub shears are a game-changer for me. I’d first seen the Stihl HSA 26 battery-powered pruners final 12 months however held off shopping for them till I visited designer Sheila Jack in her Wiltshire backyard, the place the neat energy instrument is a vital for trimming her fast-growing Lonicera nitilda domes that have to be clipped each few weeks.
The Stihl shears include two attachments: a 20cm shrub cutter and a smaller 12cm “grass” cutter. It’s turn out to be my go-to instrument, gliding by means of and tidying a number of overgrown hebes, a big topiarized pittosporum, and the numerous boxwood balls in my backyard. It’s light-weight sufficient to work with all day—though a charged battery will get you about 110 minutes of clipping. (To recharge the battery will take about an hour; having a spare battery would keep away from this problem.)
Crucially the HSA 26 is nimble sufficient and with a powerful sufficient blade motion to make clear and exact cuts. Like every bladed energy instrument, it must be used with care. Nevertheless it’s extraordinarily simple and intuitive to make use of, with easy blade modifications and a rubberized grip for consolation. Stihl claims the shears can address branches as much as 8mm thick (if you would like a instrument for chunkier branches, the model’s cordless pruner—the GTA 26—is a mini chainsaw that’s equally light-weight).
As we head into winter, I’m anticipating that the shears are going to be equally transformative in terms of the massive winter deadheading, particularly for decorative grasses which will be time-consuming to chop again. Like the easiest instruments, this one has made my gardening life a pleasure as an alternative of a ache.
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