Well, I didnt' get any responses to my post; but I can give you my opinion now after using this hedge trimmer today. To me, it's great! What used to take me most of one day to trim three boxwood hedges (surrounding beds), took only 30min.

The unit is like 99% plastic, so I was really worried when I unpacked it for the first time. Thought I had wasted my money ($176 with taxes and Shpg); but it really does catch the trimmings and mulch them. Only, I had to empty the small container about four times. It comes with a bigger bag attachment, tho; didn't try that yet. The machine is quiet, too.

Now, what I think is that those people who had problems with it probably used it to cut thicker or bigger woody hedge. It worked good on the softer boxwood. My only concern is that usually boxwood is best cut with shears, by hand. Sometimes cutting with an electric trimmer will cut the leaves so that you'll have white "chop" marks the next day. I'll have to wait and see.

The biggest job was dragging the electric cords out! Anyway, thought I'd post my experience for what it's worth.

schoolhouse,

This sounds very interesting. Can you give us an update on how the Garden Groom hedge trimmer has been working for you this last year?

I need to deadhead some lavender and trim some round boxwood shrubs. Was looking for the B&D battery operated pruning shears and found this thread.

Would really like to hear from anyone who has purchased and used this product, and what your thoughts are about its quality and reliability.

Here is a link that might be useful: Google: Garden Groom hedge trimmer

For anyone who is still interested in Garden Groom Pro, I am providing my thoughts about it. I recently purchased one for $149.00, although I was really a little skeptical about the results and whether I would be satisfied with my purchase. I have two large Euonymus shrub hedges. The one in the back around my patio is approximately 45 ft long and 6 ft to 8 ft high. The other which is in front, is about 40 ft long and 4 ft tall. I have decorative bark under each and have previously been laying a large plastic sheet to catch the cuttings so the bark would remain undisturbed. This was both time-consuming and much extra hard work which I did not enjoy, particularly with Oklahoma wind blowing the plactic around. My hope for the Garden Groom Pro was that is would eliminate some of this task. Well....now after a month of using Garden Groom Pro, I am very pleased with the results. The Garden Groom Pro not only decreases the time and work involved, it does a much better job than I had been doing with regular hedge trimmers. I would recommend it to anyone who is particular about the way they want their hedges to look and who want to decrease the effort to accomplish this. It is well worth the purchase price, believe me. My review is thumbs up!

John, thanks for the review, I've seen infomercials on this product. It looked like it would do the job, but I don't trust any infomercial.
btw, i'm an okie, hiway 20, where the wind blows 9 days out of 10.
thanks,

Another Okie shopping for Garden Groom. Can anyone that has used one of these for a year or so give feedback opinion on this product? Thanks.

I bought one of the Garden Groom hedge trimmers in 2011. It works great for new growth but I cannot let the new growth get over 2 long or the stems will fold over and not get cut. It will not cut big (+ 3/16") stems. If I keep the hedge trimmed fairly often, it does a wonderful job. If I let it go too long before trimming, the old sickle bar type has to be used. It is heavy and strains my back if I have to reach across the hedge for sny length of time. With that being said, I do recommend it. I got mine on eBay at a good price; about 1/2 of retail.

Here is a link that might be useful: eBay listings