A hedge trimer on a tractor can just trim and it can butcher hedges, to get a nice trim you need two things, one, a good driver, Two, and the blades to be shape, i've seen some farmer hedge trimer blades and some are like hammers not blades this will cause damage and it will take longer to do the hedge triming in the first place and it will do a bad job and cost more If a policeman said it was ok to do a 101 mph down the motorway would you do it knowing it's illegal
I believe the clean cutting machinery and the "break and tear" machinery are two different types made specifically for their particular job. The problem is that there continues to be "Experts" who recommend a new method as being "the" one and it becomes the latest fad. I remember the RHS carrying out a trial using a Hedge Trimmer to prune roses. I think the result of that was that while it saved time and didn't exactly harm the Roses it left the stems looking broken and tatty.
Dumb residents,dumb council and dumb landowner = dead birds. Simple solution- no hedge cutting allowed till nesting season is over and it should apply to residents,businesses and councils. On a plus note the hege will be fine next year. They do this round mine and the hege recovers quickly and is the better for it even though it looks rough at first. I did this to my beech hedge last autumn and its still heaving with sparrows,starlings,tits,black birds etc who use it as highway to travel in away from all the Protected birds of prey that feast on them .
I used a hedge cutter on my climbing rose for the first time last year and with some good feeding this year its booming and looking the best it has by a country mile in nearly 20 years. Worked a treat for me.
I think the biggest message from this situation is we really don't look after our wildlife enough. It's all very well having laws in place, but they have to be enforced and proper punishments/deterrents given . For example, 3 precious Hen Harriers were slaughtered on the Bowland Moors, probably by those with an interest in Grouse shoots. Now if the fine is less than the profit made by running the shoots, the whole legal "protection" falls down. In the case of the hedge, the police would have to prove there were birds nesting to make a case, if all the minced nests, eggs and young are removed, there is little chance of prosecution. This really saddens me, and makes me glad I don't have children, what type of world are they inheriting?
They are called flail mowers. Ruddy great brutal things which are as mentioned in this thread a cylinder that spins cutting and destroying everything in its path. Driven in this case by a complete idiot !! I love nature and despise those who abuse it and fail to respect both nature and the environment. I kid you not if I had seen this going on there would have been hell played on the site !! Rant over. Sorry
No need to apologise - I think we are all in complete agreement that the actions of said idiot are not only stupid, but barbaric and criminal
I just get so angry ! Usually a pretty laid back bloke but certain things make me see red vert quickly indeed ! My wife and I love to sit in our summerhouse at the top of the garden and watch the birds come down the feeders we fill every single day. We are privileged to have Chaffinches Robins Gold crests and a fabulous Greater spotted woodpecker among our visitors. Seeing that sort of behaviour angers me greatly !
You are not alone Charlie - we feed the local chooks regularly, and I often have their company when I am digging the garden; there are a couple of wee spyugs (Scottish affectionate name for sparrows) who will sit atop the fence and watch me dig, or sometimes they will perch on the top of the spade while I use the hand trowel. I often make wee noises to chatter with them, and they rock their wee heads from side to side as they listen and watch. We also have a lot of parakeets around here, which are beautiful to see. As far as I am concerned, we are merely custodians of this world - with farmers, horticulturists and gardeners being lucky enough to be in supervisory roles. Nobody, but nobody, has the right to inflict mass destruction on the scale that was done to that hedgerow.
To many country lore has been lost over the past few decades Hopefully the concept of Forest schools will spread more widely and kids will rediscover the skills of our forefathers. We sure as heck need them, to repair the damage that idiots such as the numptys in the lead article are causing.
Two ways of looking at it **Yvonne** ... I'm glad I've had children so I could teach them about these things in the hope it helps the world that *their* children will inherit As for that landowner ... doubt he'll dare make that mistake again! Yes, of course I am equally saddened by this event and the potential destruction to wildlife; but, next year still more will nest there, the landowner will be much wiser and the next birds will have greater protection.
Good morning @WeeTam yes its been done before and many rose websites mention it, with respect my friend it might be all right this year but within the next 5 years it will suffer Its not a method that I would use but then I am of an era before hedge trimmers were invented You have got to be good with a hedge trimmer to achieve this,All your pruning cuts should slope upwards and outwards from the inside of the stem to approximately 1/3 inch above a dormant bud. A clean sharp secateurs is essential for clean cuts that do not damage your rose.
