Hedges are a welcome addition to any garden, offering an attractive natural boundary that provides privacy around the property. While they offer many advantages to homeowners, maintaining them certainly isn’t one of them, with hedge trimming being one of the most difficult tasks to complete in a garden.
The taller the hedge the more difficult it is to trim. Even when using cordless hedge trimmers or long reach pruners, there are many hedges that are simply too high to reach without assistance. Ladders offer a good solution to this issue but often don’t have the necessary reach or offer a decent position to stand and cut the hedges.
This is where a hedge cutting platform becomes a worthwhile investment. Similar in design to ladders, a hedge cutting platform offers additional stability, typically having a wide based, additional legs, and often a large platform to perform the maintenance from.
As ladders can be dangerous when trimming hedges that are too tall and wide, a hedge cutting platform offers a much safer position to cut from. The extended platforms allow you to reach higher and wider than on a ladder, which is especially important with larger hedges, while giving a stable position to work from.
Give the fact you need a large set of hedge trimmers for regular hedge maintenance, it’s always a good idea to have a more stable position to work from. Reaching too far outwards or overextending upwards can lead to serious injury, particularly on a ladder, which is why a hedge cutting platform is such a worthwhile investment.
Better still, hedge cutting platforms can be used for countless other tasks around the home and garden. From decorating to cleaning windows to pruning trees and other plants, you can use a hedge trimming platform for all kinds of home maintenance.
Garden Hedge Cutting Tripod Ladder
This hedge cutting platform from Hendon is a great all-round performer, being suitable for a variety of home maintenance tasks, including hedge trimming, tree pruning, and all kinds of decorating. Measuring 3.6m (11.8ft), it offers plenty of height so is a good option for anyone with very tall and wide hedges, while it’s also suitable for pruning trees too.
It does appear like a standard ladder at first glance but there are some notable features that make it much more. For example, there is a third telescopic leg makes it usable on various surfaces, including uneven surfaces that traditional ladders struggle with.
This is invaluable for anyone that has hedges located on hills and slopes or generally awkward positions, as the platform remains stable on every surface thanks to the adjustable third leg. The design also ensures ample stability, with a wide set base helping provide better balance, which is important when reaching outwards as you trim the hedges.
Because the platform is made from aluminium it is surprisingly lightweight for its size, weighing just 12kg. This makes it easy to carry around the home and garden, while also making it a good option for professional gardeners that have a lot of hedges, trees, and bushes to maintain throughout the day.
Despite this lightweight design the platform itself is incredibly durable. It features welded frames for optimal strength, resulting in an impressive 100kg maximum capacity. This should be more than enough for a person and their hedge trimmer!
Pros
- 3.6m height
- Telescopic 3rd leg and wide base for added stability on all surfaces
- 100kg capacity
Cons
- Lacks a platform so can’t rest anything on top but this is only a hassle if using it for decorating
Wolf 11 in 1 Multi Purpose Folding Ladder
To call this product simply a hedge cutting platform would be underselling it – this is multipurpose folding ladder that can be set to 11 different positions. Many of these happen to be ideal for cutting hedges but you can do so much more with it!
The 11 adjustable positions are incredibly varied so are suitable for many different tasks. For example, the straight ladder position reaches an impressive 3.37m when fully extended, while there is also a step ladder position, platform position, and it can even be used as a trestle to bridge gaps.
It’s certainly one of the most versatile ladders you can buy, making it perfect for not just hedge trimming but countless other tasks. In fact, you can use multiple positions for just hedge trimming, with each one offering a nice range of heights to suit different sized hedges and trees.
Also, there are two steel platform insets that can be attached to different positions of the ladder. This means you can have more stability in many ladder positions, including the trestle and workbench positions.
Regardless of the position you use, the ladder remains sturdy and well-balanced, with wide stabilising legs ensuring the ladder remains firmly in position no matter where you’re working from. This is especially useful if your hedges are found in less than ideal positions, as the ladder remains safe and secure from every position.
It also folds away into a very compact size – it can easily fit inside a car boot with room to spare!
Pros
- Can be adjusted into 11 different positions
- Folds into a compact shape for easy storage and transportation
- 150kg capacity
Cons
- It can take a few tries to get the right position set because there are so many to choose from
- A game-changer! 11 different positions to tackle every task on your list, from...
- Can be transformed into a trestle with the included steel platform inserts and...
- Folds away effortlessly for simple storage and easy transportation. Pop it in...
Henrys Tripod Garden Ladders
This tripod ladder from Henrys is a fantastic option for cutting hedges, offering a good height, great stability, and an adjustable third leg for working on uneven and awkward terrain.
Again, this looks like a normal ladder but offers a lot more than you might expect, thanks to the third adjustable leg that significantly enhances balance and stability, which is very important for safe hedge trimming at high heights.
The tripod leg adjusts at different positions from the main ladder, allowing you to set it up on slopes and hilly areas around your garden. This is a great feature for anyone that has hedges or trees that aren’t on flat surfaces, as using normal ladders can be near impossible due to a lack of stability.
Rungs on the ladder are also widely spaced, which further improves usability by offering a more stable working position for your feet. Reaching out and up when trimming hedges can sometimes be dangerous on thin rungs, so having additional space definitely makes life easier when trimming and pruning.
Better still, there is a unique 7” deep platform rung found midway up the ladder. This is a great feature as it lets you rest your legs and thighs in a more natural position, not forcing them against a hard metal rung as you trim the hedge. It provides additional comfort that is certainly welcome during those days where you’re cutting hedges for hours!
A rail is also fitted at the very top of the ladder, which is useful for positioning your hand for added stability if you need to reach high or wide with your hedge cutters. You can even lean against it while both hands are occupied, so you can work from virtually any position while feeling safe and comfortable.
Pros
- Tripod ladder design with adjustable 3rd leg
- Wide spaced rungs for easier working positions
- Feet offer great stability on various surfaces
Cons
- Not the most compact so not ideal for transporting unless using a van
Henchman Midi Aluminium Hi-Steps Garden Ladder
This hedge cutting platform offers one of the most spacious platform areas to work on, with the 2’x2’ platform providing lots of room for safe hedge cutting.
In fact, it probably provides the widest cutting swathe of any platform as it gives you much more room to move around on when reaching outwards with your hedge cutter. There is also a guard rail that encloses you on the platform, reducing the risk of accidently falling from overreaching.
Of course, this won’t be much use if it can’t reach those tall hedges and trees but the platform offers a good height that can be easily adjusted to suit your needs. For example, the initial height of the platform is 2’ but this can be extended up to 5’ when using the 3’ extenders found at the bottom of the ladder.
The steel legs also easily adjustable, extending with the ladder to increase height. The rear legs can be moved independently of the front legs, allowing you to position the platform onto uneven surfaces while remaining stable.
Aluminium makes up the remainder of the hedge cutting platform, being the perfect combination of strong yet lightweight. You can easily transport the ladder around and it has a maximum load of 150kg, so should be more than capable of holding you and your hedge trimmer!
So, you can trim hedges of various heights from the platform, even on sloped or hilly surfaces, while the safe working platform offers one of the most stable working positions of any hedge trimming platform.
Pros
- Spacious 2’ x 2’ platform
- Quick adjust feet make small height increases for added safety
- Guard rail provides safe working position on the platform
Cons
- Can take a while to fold initially but should be quicker after a few tries
- Henchman His4, Midi Hi Steps, Aluminium Garden Work Platform, Ideal To Cut 3.3M...
- Product Type: Ladder
- Brand: Henchman
When you finish with the hedges you will be left with quite a lot of waste. Investing in a good garden shredder can make light work of those branches and twigs and after shredding can leave you with material to use as your compost or mulch in your back yard.
Last update on 2025-03-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
