Garden Tips Newsletter
Pruning Equipment: Great Christmas
Gift for the Gardener
November 24, 2008
Pruning will begin early next year. When the weather is dreary outside, take time and assemble your pruning equipment. If you need any tools, put them on your Christmas wish list. Listed below are some basic pruning tools that should be in the garden tool shed of the “handy” gardener for those small pruning jobs. If the job entails removing large limbs, other type pruning equipment would be needed.
Hand pruning shears are the proper tool for most small pruning chores.
A sharp set of bypass pruners with curved blades that cut with a scissor-like
action and give the cleanest cut should be in every gardener’s
tool box. Pruning shears are designed to cut stems up to ¼ inch
in diameter. The bypass types are preferred over anvil pruners. These
have a single cutting blade that, when cutting, presses the stem against
a flat piece of metal (anvil). These types of hand pruners are typically
not preferred as they tend to crush the stems.
Long-handled loppers (12 to 18 inch long handles) are used to cut thick branches up to ½ inch in diameter. Select bypass types with lightweight metal alloy handles.
A keyhole saw about 7 to 8 inches long with a thin pointed tip allows you to maneuver into tight corners. It can be used to cut very large stems (up to ½ inch diameter or greater) near the crown of shrubs. Remove large stubs close to a bud union.
Sturdy leather gloves with a gauntlet-type cuff to protect your hands and forearms are a must for those thorny pruning jobs.
Squirt bottle of Lysol® or other disinfectant cleaner to disinfect your pruning equipment after pruning out diseased branches is a good thing. Using these types of disinfecting cleaners are less corrosive to your tools than using bleach.
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Lelia Scott Kelly, Ph.D., writes Garden Tips weekly and is a Horticulture Specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Her office is in the North Mississippi Research & Extension Center, Verona.