Shrubbery

[HOMER]

This is a question I have wanted to get an answer on for a long time. I am pretty good with a large shrub when it comes to re-shaping/removing new growth, but I have not learned how some of these landscapers get their little holleys as round as a ball!!!! It really pi$$$$es me off too. Is there some special technique that is used to do this, is it always done by hand? The problem is I can never catch these experts in the act of doing the &quot;ball thing&quot; or I would stop and bother them! I think they must know I'm coming so they leave so they don't reveal their magic. I need help on this one, I have been putting off some much needed shrub work at a commercial location because of this. I don't want to embarass myself. Big ones don't give me too much trouble but those little b$%%%56rds get me everytime. Where do you start trimming, where do you end up? Is there a mold or something, do you need a peep site on a rifle to get a round image? <p>HELP!!!!!<p>Homer

[GrassMaster]

Hello Homer:<p>I was above average trimming but those perfectly shaped ones I could never do. I think you are born with it. I wasn't born with it at all!<p>I stopped at this bank that had that look & this man was there trimming with hand clippers. <p>I would watch him & I never saw anything special. But he continually sharpened with hand file & brushed with wire brush.<p>I asked him how he did it & he said I've been doing it for over 20 years. LOL thats all he said.<p>Sorry no more help.<p><br><p>----------<br>GrassMaster - Home: www.lawnservicing.com<br>My Start Up Page www.lawnservicing.com/startup/

[HOMER]

I wonder if he will work for peanuts? We have plenty of them here. Sounds like I'm not alone.<p>Homer

[thelawnguy]

Homer,<p>Lots of practice. Lots of patience. I have a 30 inch single sided trimmer and can shape just about anything. Always get loads of praise and awe. But Ive been doing it for eight years. No better time to start than now.<p>Bill<p>----------<br>&quot;...half my brain tied behind my back, just to make it fair.&quot; R.L.<br>

[Evan528]

like it was said earlier &quot;your either born with it or your not&quot; i have been very good at shaping shrubs from the begining. i dont leave till the shrubs look perfect. i have never had a worker that has ever neen able to trim for sh@*. need to keep you blades sharp and take you time.

[Charles]

I can shape hedges fast and to perfection. Just came naturally to me. Problem with that is when I had employees, customers wouldn't let them touch their hedges except me. Cone shaped, boxes, round whatever they want. Don't even slow down to think about it much. Just go with my instincts and not make any unnatural against the grain moves. been told that they look striking. Too bad you can't get rich doing this.

[HOMER]

I hear all of this but you still ain't told me how you do it!!! Do you start at the top and (round only) roll down the sides as if you were brushing a horse, mule, elephant etc. or do you start at the bottom and work your way around the shrub til you get to the top? I keep my blades sharpened with a hand file so that hasn't stopped me from doing circles. What you guy are saying is you just have a nack for it, that is probably why I need to hire a guy/gal who has that same nack. If I don't hurry I'm gonna have a big nack attack!<p>Homer

[Keith]

Homer, what works for me is starting at the top and brushing the top down using only a small portion of the blades.

[JJ Lawn]

Homer, I am no where near a expert on trimming balls but I do pretty good on small ones. If they are already pre-formed they are easier for me to do. I usually start at the top and work my way down in a spriral to the bottom.<p>I use a pair of Corona hand grass shears. Don't have the model # right now but they look like a pair of sissors and were expensive. I used to watch a guy do them with a pair of sheep shears. He was a lot better at this than I. But basically it takes practice.<p><br>Jim

[cjcland]

i start by going around the whole bush at the center then i work around the bush cutting up then i round the top off it works for me i also had alot of practice when i worked for another lawn company it was my job to do all the bushes at 9 apartment complexes (that was all i did for 8 months me my hedgetrimmers my rake and tarp 10 hours a day, i dont miss it...

[PLS]

I have some spiral topiaries on a property that are all kinds of fun. They are junipers though. We use a pair of Disston rechargeable grass shears on those. Works pretty good, if there is such a thing. And now to make things worse they have added two pom pom topiaries. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

[lawngator]

Homer, <br>Practice with something easy, like boxwoods. The trick is to look at the direction the branches are growing and cut into them. The key is not to force the blade, let the cutting edge do the work at it's pace. The thought to keep in mind...&quot; it's like raising kids, you can't force them to grow up right, but you can certainly influence them&quot;. Good luck, Bill

[GroundKprs]

Homer, this may be what you are asking for. You are looking at two perspectives. You see the other guys' shearing looking good, but you look at theirs from the street. Then you stand on top of yours and see all the (flaws?).<p>What you'll have to do to get satisfied and confident with your work is to do one shrub, then walk back to the street and look at it. Better yet, do a portion of that shrub, and step far back to see what it looks like, and note what more you want to do to it. Then go up to it and do a little more, and step back again. Will take time to get the first few done, but you will soon learn how to make your cuts close up to give the distant appearance you want to achieve.<p>Most of all, to work with elec or gas hedge trimmers efficiently, be sure that you are not holding blades parallel to the plane on which you are cutting. Blade should be tilted about 15 degrees to get best cutting effect from tool. This is hard to get the hang of if you are shearing something round, but once you get it, you'll be able to crank out perfection in no time. If you don't get a start on it this year, come up north next winter. It will take a few years to really feel confident in this.<p>----------<br>Jim<br>North central Indiana

[HOMER]

To be honest with you I have thought about buying a set of the grass shears. I didn't want to spend the money if the weren't strong enought to do the job. JJ, are the grass shears you're referring to similar to the cheap Black & Decker type? Thats what I looked at and figured I wouldn't be out much if I paid $34.95 for them and they wouldn't work. I think for the real small ones I could get around them better and have a little better control. Where di you buy the Coronas and how much are they. The other option I guess would be to buy a set of hand shears. I have an Asian customer that also has the Juniper poodle looking &quot;thang&quot; and I don't want to put my Tanakas on that! She might come out and whoop me big time. I'll wait on a reply but I think thats the way i'm going to go, with the rechargable grass shears, I can always use them for something.<p>Homer

[Charles]

I use echo hedge trimmer. I use to have John deere until they got stoled. I loved the john deere but had trouble with the vibration and keeping the machine together but it had alot of power. But the echo one works too. On the round hedges I usually start at the bottom and go up and around. Skim and skim some more until I get the look I want. Never just go in and take hunks out. Unless the hedge is completely over grown and the owner is wanting to get it under control.

[JJ Lawn]

Homer, The Corona shears I use are Professional Grass Shear, Model GS 6750. They list for $27.95 on the Corona web page. I am sure you can find them cheaper from a wholesaler or maybe AM Leonard. I think I paid around $17 or 18 for mine about 5 yrs ago. They do hold an edge better than the cheaper brands.<p>I also like the idea of the Disston rechargable shear. I had though about getting one but never have. I don't really have that many shaped bushes to trim. One thing I thought against them was , What about recharging? Can you charge it with a cig lighter? Do they come with removable batterys so you can carry spares? I do bet they work good though, kind of like giving a haircut, and a lot easier on the stiff fingers.<p>Jim<p>The URL for Corona is: http://www.coronaclipper.com<br>

[PLS]

The Disston shears have to charge on 110 volt, takes about 10 hours and only lasts about 40 minutes. You need to keep some WD40 handy as they tend to gum up a little. It works good on junipers. But if the stems are very large I prune them out by hand with a pair of Felco's. I also have a pair of the Corona hand grass shears and they are good ones. Have any of you tried Atrimec?

[Charles]

Since speed is so important in our business. Homer, I would go get the lightest most powerful hedge trimmer you can get. Get the longest teethe too. I don't know why anyone would wear themselves with hand trimmers. Why have a big commercial mower etc and then go out and buy cheap trimmers. Hedge trimming 30 hedges is more work than cutting grass. Get it done fast get your money and get to the next job.

[PLS]

Charles:<br>The hand trimmers are for topiaries, Not for trimming shrubs. Hedge sheers on topiaries is like bringing a bowling ball to play marbles LOL.

[Charles]

Hey PLS when we went to war in the Gulf. We brought a tank to kill a fly:)

[JJ Lawn]

Charles,<p>&gt;when we went to war in the Gulf. We brought a tank to kill a fly:) <br> <br>But you didn't kill the darn thing. :)<p>Jim

[Charles]

JJ,<br>If I had been there Sadam would be mopping floors in a federal prison right now:)

[PLS]

Well, he's not and you didn't and he is still a pain in the ass.