Use the Correct Pruner For the Job
Pruning plays a very important role in the ongoing health and robustness of many plants in the garden. The type of pruning tool you need to cut the twigs, stems or branches of the plants in your garden will be determined by the thickness of what has to be pruned. In all cases you should use a tool that is honed to a very sharp edge and the tools should also be regularly cleaned to avoid disease.
You may want to equip yourself with one, a couple or all of the tools mentioned below but the decision you make should be ruled by the type of pruning you are going to perform. The tools that you may need to use include hand pruners, pruning loppers, pruning saws and pole pruners.
The hand pruner is the essential gardening tool for many keen gardeners. There are two types of hand pruners and they are used for two different types of pruning. Bypass pruners work in a similar way to a pair of scissors with blades that pass closely past each other in a cutting action. This type of hand pruner is designed for cutting living stems and branches up to an inch in diameter. Also used for branches this size are the other type of hand pruners, the anvil pruners. Anvil pruners work with a sharp upper blade that closes on a blunt blade that snips the branch as the handles are shut. These pruners are designed for cutting dried and dead twigs.
For larger branches that must be removed from shrubs and trees you can either use a pair of pruning loppers or a pruning saw. The pruning saw will allow you to get in close to the trunk of the tree to make the cut and are the preferred option for the sake of the type of cut you can achieve.
For cutting branches that are out of reach you should use a pole pruner. These pruners are usually equipped with both a pruning blade, usually a bypass pruner, as well as a pruning saw. These pruners do the same job as the tools you would use on the ground they are simply attached to the end of an extendable pole.
Make sure that you use the right type of pruning tool for the appropriate job at hand. Failing to do so can cause damage to the plants that you are pruning or to the tools that you use.
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