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In Today’s post, Let us help you in making the right choice when it comes to selecting the right pruning tools. We will discuss about different types of plant trimming and cutting tools for your garden and learn which tool you must choose for what purpose, whether you are a beginner or an expert gardener.
Pruning: An Essential Practice for Plant Health
Pruning or trimming your plants is one of the most important and useful practices in gardening that needs to be performed irrespective of the type of plant you are growing in your garden. Pruning practices are indispensable for your plant health, and you should never avoid pruning on emotional grounds. You all must be aware of the benefits of pruning – whether to get rid of diseased branches, to promote branching and plant growth, or even improving flowering and fruiting. You can check my detailed video on Pruning tips and Concepts here.
The Importance of Choosing the Right Pruners
There are many gardeners who are not aware of the correct type of pruners they need. For instance – which of these two would you choose? What is this flat surface and why? Choosing the wrong pruner for a wrong task can adversely affect your plants as well as your gardening practice.
Types of Pruners
Pruners are also called pruning shears, hand pruners, secateurs, and even garden scissors. If you are looking to purchase the best pruner for your garden, please check my in-depth reviews on Choosing the Best Hand Pruners and also The top electric pruners.
Hand Pruners or Hand Shears
These are the most commonly used cutters in home gardening. These are of two types:
Anvil Pruners
Anvil pruners have a straight upper blade that cuts against a flat lower plate – that looks like an anvil. These Anvil pruners tend to crush the stem as they cut and are best for woody branches that won’t be harmed by crushing. So, remember to use them only on woody or semi-woody branches and not soft branches that can be crushed.
Bypass Pruners
Bypass pruners have curved scissor-like blades that overlap. These are ideal for cutting younger and soft branches but can also be used for cutting semi-woody and woody branches. These are the commonly used pruners in home gardening. They are also best for making stem cuttings at a 45-degree cutting angle for propagation of plants from stem cuttings and are easy to use. The durability varies from brand to brand. In my experience, this one is the best heavy-duty pruner I have used to date and is also pretty cheap and can cut even thicker branches up to 20mm. If you want a simple light pruner which can cut up to 10mm, this much cheaper parrot beak pruner will do its job. You can check my full review article on choosing the best pruner for gardening.
Other Cutting Tools
Now we will quickly check out some more cutting tools one by one.
Lopping Pruners or Lopping Shears
These have long handles that provide a little more reach than hand shears and are suitable for heavy-duty pruning for up to three-fourths to 1-inch diameter cuttings.
Pole Pruners
Pole pruners are made of blades attached to hooks. These hooks are mounted on long poles and a chain or cord controls the blade, which is usually spring-loaded. Pole pruners can typically reach branches that are 12 feet or more above the ground. These are typically used when the use of a ladder is not possible.
Hedge Pruners or Hedge Shears
These are designed for rapid trimming of hedges. The hedge shears come in a variety of sizes and designs. They have long, straight or angled blades that are sharp enough to cut several branches at once. The longer blades of hedge shears ensure an even cut across the plant branches to maintain a neat and balanced border. You can also use them to make a neat border of many other plants as well, like bougainvillea bush and stuff like that.
Pruning Saw
These come in a variety of sizes and blades with teeth that are fine or coarse and even a folding type like this one. This looks pretty handy and sturdy for home gardening purposes. These are typically used for stems that are more than 1-1/2 inches in diameter, which are usually too large for hand pruners or lopping shears.
Flower Cutter (Floral Snips)
This is a simple bypass pruner to cut small branches or flowers. These are lightweight and have a spring system. They are best for performing deadheading and also the pinching technique for more branching and making your plant bushy.
Grass Trimmer
If you have a lawn and you don’t want to invest in a lawn mower, this is the tool for you. You can check this high-quality grass trimmer and find out more details about it – links below.
Simple Good Quality Scissors
Last but not least, a simple good-quality scissor does a lot of jobs. I’m sure all of you agree with this. This is quite handy and the most useful all-purpose cutting tool in gardening.
PRODUCT LINKS:
1) GardenJoy 12V Li-ion Electric String Trimmer
https://www.5startool.com/gardenjoy-12v-li-ion-electric-trimmer.html
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2)Consumer-oriented model tools within affordable range on 5startool:
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Please Watch this detailed video demonstrating all Types of Pruners:
Last update on 2024-10-09 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
