This is a question that generally will get asked when talking about lawn edgers and trimmers. Essentially we are talking about two distinctive items of lawn equipment which accomplish the same task, but are usually more appropriate to slightly different applications.

When searching for an item of lawn care equipment to maintain the edges of your turf to keep them looking neat and properly maintained it is possible to either choose a lawn trimmer or edger.

First of all you will need to think about the type of grass you have. Generally speaking you are able to separate grass into the ones that send out lateral runners and creep and those that don't.

Tall Fescue is a good instance of a lawn that does not creep and most of the growth is vertical. This means sides on this kind of grass can commonly be managed with the lawn mower or if the grass butts up next to a vertical surface like a fence etc a lawn trimmer will be the best choice to trim the side of the lawn that the lawnmower doesn't quite get.

Buffalo grass is just one example of a creeping type grass that'll send out lateral runners that'll grow over the side of your grass onto walkways etc. Creeping turf can develop quite thick and the runners are usually challenging to trim with a lawn trimmer. Therefore if you want to have a nice, straight edge along this kind of lawn a lawn edger will be the smartest choice.

Hence that's it, generally Lawn Edgers will produce a vertical cut and therefore are excellent for slicing through coarse grass runners and provide an even finish along the edge of your grass. You can get them in gas and electric varieties and the variety you decide on is determined by your typical needs.

Should you have a non creeping grass a lawn trimmer should most likely meet your needs as they cut with a horizontal action and can trim the areas that are often missed by a mower. Just like lawn edgers, lawn trimmers also are available in gas powered and electric/battery versions. One final point about lawn trimmers, for those who have a garden that abutt to the edge of your lawn you do want to utilize caution using your lawn trimmer as it can damage your plants. In this instance a lawn edger could be a better choice or better still just prune your garden away from the edge of the grass so they're not in the way.

So these are just some of the fundamentals with regard to deciding whether you need a lawn edger or a lawn trimmer.