Finding The Best Hedge Trimmers For The Elderly

You're never too old to garden. In fact, gardening can be one of the best things an elderly person can do. Gardening not only fosters a sense of self worth and achievement, it gives the gentle exercise that can help overall health issues. But some gardening chores are very difficult if you have arthritis or have a lost a few inches in height over the years. What are the best hedge trimmers in these situations?

Check With Your Doctor

Although your doctor probably won't be able to recommend the best hedge trimmers for you, they can help you determine if you are strong enough to safely operate hedge trimmers. If you have problems with your balance but have a lot of hedges, then perhaps you should think of either electric shears or hiring someone. But if you have great balance and good strength, then there are many best hedge trimmers for you.

Cordless

Unless your hedges are all really close to a power source, the best hedge trimmers for you would be cordless trimmers. This just saves on you risking tripping over any wires. However, if you are used to wires in all of your gardening tools and are careful, then you can consider corded hedge trimmers. Be sure to use an electrical circuit breaker if you can for added safety.

Some of the best hedge trimmers for the elderly have long, telescopic handles so you don't have to get up out of a wheelchair or stand on a teetering ladder in order to get to the uppermost branches. These will usually only work for a half hour or forty minutes on one charge. The battery operated ones are often a lot lighter and less expensive than those that run on gasoline or a combustible engine.

Battery Powered Shears

For many gardeners with arthritis, battery powered shears are the best hedge trimmers they will ever find. They can find many other uses for the shears rather than just on the hedges. They can use them for pruning, edging and threatening marauding teenagers. With just a little pressure, they can cut through very thick material. There are many different types of shears designed for arthritis sufferers available.

For other gardening equipment and tips, you can try checking with the Arthritis Foundation to see what they think are the best hedge trimmers and gardening tools for those with arthritis. You can also check with your hardware or gardening supply store to see what tools they recommend.