Flail Mower for Hedges?

[Suburban Plowboy]

This will probably sound crazy, but can a flail mower be used to trim the sides of hedges?

I have a power hedge trimmer, but I am really bad at trimming. My hedges look like they have some kind of disease. It would be wonderful if I could tilt a flail mower and drive down a hedge, making it look more like a human being trimmed it and less like the result of a tornado.

It would be neat if I only had to trim the tops by hand.

 

[nyone]

I use to cut chain link fence lines with a boom mower like that. I dont see why you couldn't with a side flail.

 

[leonz]

This will probably sound crazy, but can a flail mower be used to trim the sides of hedges?

I have a power hedge trimmer, but I am really bad at trimming. My hedges look like they have some kind of disease. It would be wonderful if I could tilt a flail mower and drive down a hedge, making it look more like a human being trimmed it and less like the result of a tornado.

It would be neat if I only had to trim the tops by hand.

You can use a boom mounted orchard and vineyard shredder to
trim vertically but it would help if we knew how long your hedges
are as you have to justify the very large expense for an orchard
and vineyard shredder and have a large enough mule to carry
one for doing the work.

There are vineyard and berry row trimmers that can trim the top
and sides of hedges with hydraulic driven sickle bars in one pass.

I hate my barberry hedges, I cut them back to less than 3 feet high
to make it easier to trim them.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

I'm already planning to get a flail mower for brush. I thought being able to zip around the perimeter of the house and trim the sides of the edges would be a bonus. I might set out some privacy hedges later.

The house hedges are your typical house-length hedges. The privacy hedges could to maybe 300 feet eventually.

 

[leonz]

The three point mounted hydraulic drive sickle bars will be less money and will be easier to use for the hedges;
Thay way you can buy a simpler to own and operate Del Morino or Maschio flail mower with hydraulic side shift.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

I'm thinking more along the lines of $3000-$5000, total. A sickle mower would eat an awful lot of that all by itself.

 

[LouNY]

A lot will depend on what you are planting for a hedge and how often you'll trim it. The small stiff branched bushes will trim nicely. The trees with longer limber limbs don't tend to trim as nice. Vines don't trim very will for me. But Lilacs and such do good.
My ditch bank flail has the hammers on it, the J knives may do entirely different.

 

[leonz]

The 3 point hitch sickle trimmers will reach much higher than a
flail shredder and a flail shredder will not reach the top of a hedge
to mow it level where a hydraulic arm mounted sickle pruner will
do this at a slow ground speed.


If you have a loader for your mule you could take advantage of a
SABRE SAMURIA to trim the hedges by mounting it on the bucket
for both flat trimming and vertical trimming and take it off when
you are done with it. You need long hoses to run it.

 

[LouNY]

This mower works well for hedges and trimming. It is a bit of a pain as it really magnifies and irregularities in the ground while mowing. It is much more open in the front of the flail so it's not shrouded as much as the ditch bank units.

The controls can keep you quite busy also,...........the flails are more of a scoop style

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

A lot will depend on what you are planting for a hedge and how often you'll trim it. The small stiff branched bushes will trim nicely. The trees with longer limber limbs don't tend to trim as nice. Vines don't trim very will for me. But Lilacs and such do good.
My ditch bank flail has the hammers on it, the J knives may do entirely different.

Sounds like it would do the job for me, well enough to make driving the tractor out of the shop worth it. Thanks.