[Growster...]

Our wistaria has been tamed over the years, and is now 12'0" at its highest branch. It's quite a big chap, and spreads the length of the house just above the ground floor windows - about 30'0".

Up to now, I've used long loppers to trim each branch, but they really take ages, and as the Growster arms start to get slightly wobbly after an hour or so, I'm considering a lightweight high-level cordless pruner/hedgecutter.

Does anyone recommend any particular type please? I probably won't use it for much else, but wistaria grows as you watch it, and if one or more of the tendrils ever get away, they become tree trunks by about three o'clock, so it would be good to keep it in check more often!

[cadalot]

What about a manual telescopic tree pruner - I'm not a fan of battery devices, they always wain after a couple of years and don't hold the charge for as long - recently had to throw away a battery operated leaf blower, the replacement battery was nearly as much as a new machine. 

[Growster...]

What about a manual telescopic tree pruner - I'm not a fan of battery devices, they always wain after a couple of years and don't hold the charge for as long - recently had to throw away a battery operated leaf blower, the replacement battery was nearly as much as a new machine.

I'm using one of those pruners at the moment, and it takes anything up to three hands to work, two to hold it steady, and one to pull the lever, hence the need for something lighter, and more direct!

I agree about battery life, although we've all long discussed the merits of Li Ion versus Ni cad, and it seems the former lasts longer!

Thanks for the comment anyway!

[superpete]

Hi Growster, I don't know of any cordless tool that would prune a wisteria nicely - Silky Fox is the number one choice of manual pole saws / cutters for professionals I believe. I have a couple of their hand saws - best I've ever used but for long reach I now use a Fiskars lopper – it's quite good I think :- http://www.fredshed.co.uk/bigboys.htm

(Not what you wanted, I know, but..) I'd suggest a ladder and secateurs would be your best option as it's a good plan to snip laterals precisely to induce best flowering. I'm sure you're well genned up on it Growster but here's some info on it :- http://www.plantamnesty.org/pruning_topics/pt_wisteria.htm#top

This is our ladder – don't mean to show off lol, but we need it for our work... and it is always nice to see pictures on the forum.

 

[Lardman]

I've got 2 long reach hedge trimmer (electric/petrol) both ryobi and both are an absolute nightmare to control, putting the cutting head at the end of a 8ft stick is always a bad idea. You'll also struggle to see what you're doing when on the floor with with head set at 90degrees.

Im with pete on the need for a ladder (but I'd always want his to be 3 ft higher). Do you have ladder access? if so I would really recommend a ladder stand off, it will bring you way from the plant and make life so much easier and it feels so much safer.

These are the electric ones I have.

Ryobi long reach hedge trimmer

[Growster...]

Thank you Superpete, I do have a problem with ladders, especially since - er - that inconvenient moment, when the ladder slipped rather nicely, and Mrs Growster hates the damn thing...

I'm really trying to plan ahead with a lightweight electric tool, and the main branches of the wisteria have been chopped a year or so ago, so it's only dealing with the annual tendrils, which as you know, are less than a pencil thickness!

The long hand lopper - like the one in the clip here, is just too heavy these days, and I want something to do a quick point-and-clip.

I'm willing to look at any way to alleviate the  graunched shoulder syndrome (see Growster passim), hence the need to think of a bit of kit to make it easier.

Thank you, Lardman! I've been considering one of those, and understand about the difficulty in sorting things out at high level, and it may still be the solution I want!

If there was an invention which just had a long mechanical secateur on a pole, then that would be the answer! Bosch do something very like that and I'm looking at something like that tomorrow!

But many thanks for your advice, it is much appreciated!

[Growster...]

Cracked it!

See 'Growster lops it off' in chatting...