Stihl FH135 scythe for bougainvillea?

[crystallattice]

Hi,

I need to remove a few bougainvillea bushes, note remove, not just a trim! The one is very big and well established with some thick woody sections. The others are not as old but also have some thick sections, probably about 3/4" or so but with most thinner than that.

I'm thinking of getting the FH135 scythe from Stihl but can't seem to find any info on its suitability other than the local dealer recommending it. I've dealt with them before and they do not strike me as just wanting to sell the unit to make a quick buck. I can rent the hedge trimmer version (HL135) of this but after about 20 sessions I might as well have bought the unit. The rental company is not very confident that the HL135 would work for what I intended. I could rent it for a day and try it, or break it and possibly have to pay to fix it. So input from someone with experience with either or better, both the hedge trimmer and scythe would be appreciated.

The property I need to clear/maintain also has various other forms of creeper and vine overgrowth so I'm seeing the purchase of this as in investment, albeit a big initial outlay. I like owning things instead of going out and renting it as it gives you the freedom to use it at anytime and whenever you need it. I'm not sure how long it would take to clear everything but from past experience it usually takes longer than planned!

What say you?

 

[CacaoBoy]

For what you describe, I think you would be better off with a brush cutter, something you can use with either a string trimmer head or a blade. https://www.stihlusa.com/products/trimmers-and-brushcutters/trimmer-heads-and-blades/ Unless you intend primarily to be doing hedge trimming (and the bougainvillea removal is not trimming) I think you would find the brush cutter/string trimmer to be more versatile. The job you are describing might also be done with less investment, but more sweat, with a good lopper to remove enough of the branches that you can get to the main trunk and a bowsaw (assuming you do not have a chainsaw or even a reciprocating saw). You might want/need to dig up the roots, and the FH135 will do nothing for you there.

 

[crystallattice]

Yes, so I have tried with a FS450 with a homemade saw blade attachment and it does not work for the long shoots way up high, they are just too floppy and just bounce off the blade. The bush is about 20 feet square and about 10 feet tall so I'll have to get to it with something else before I can properly use the saw at the base. The stuff is nasty so I want to try and stay as far away as possible. Pruning by hand will take considerable time and pain, I want to try and avoid this if possible, but it seems this luxury will cost a fair amount. The thought of the scythe was that I can reduce its size from a distance and deal with the base part up close with other means as this usually does not have a lot of thorns.

I have a chainsaw but again it does not do well with the thin sections. I also have a fork lift and the idea was to ram the forks into it and then using some means or other to trim it from underneath and around the sides and then get rid of a large section/chunk at a time. The problem is to separate the "chunk" completely from the rest so that it can be removed without snagging and getting stuck, hand pruning to try and do this will be impossible.

The other overgrowth I have to clear is also a lot of loose vines and creepers and again the looseness of it will not work particularly well with the brush cutter and trying to cut a tangled mess with hand pruners one vine at a time is not exactly what I had in mind!

Is there any concrete specs of what the scythe can cut? I can't seem to find any literature that says what the max diameter is or what the nature of the plant is that it can cut, I only have what the sales guy told me. This is all good and well but if problems arise I want a specification paper to show that I used it within specs.

 

[CacaoBoy]

The bush is about 20 feet square and about 10 feet tall so I'll have to get to it with something else before I can properly use the saw at the base. The stuff is nasty so I want to try and stay as far away as possible. Pruning by hand will take considerable time and pain, I want to try and avoid this if possible, but it seems this luxury will cost a fair amount. The thought of the scythe was that I can reduce its size from a distance and deal with the base part up close with other means as this usually does not have a lot of thorns.

Gotcha. That description is different from what I had envisioned, and I agree the brush cutter is not the way to start. I cannot advise whether the FH135 would work for you. I have tried similarly designed hedge trimmers and have found them to be of little use except to maintain already well-mannered hedges.

If you don't get an answer here, you might try the homeowner assistance part of the lawnsite .com forums. Dealing with the bouganinvillea may be more of a question for landscapers who hang out there than the tree guys here.