Tool kit checklist

Pruning is an essential task in gardening, and it helps to have the right gear, says MARIANNE CANNON

SECATEURS

Good quality secateurs make pruning a pleasure. Find some that feel comfortable in your hand and are made from quality materials with removable parts that can be easily replaced. That way, they’ll last for years. Most have a bypass cutting action, where one simple convex cutting blade passes another. These are suited to cutting green material up to about finger thickness, and their design allows you to cut close to the leading stem or branch.

You’ll also find anvil secateurs, which have only one cutting blade that closes on a flat blade or ‘anvil.’ These are ideal for cutting through harder or dead wood. Anvil secateurs tend to crush soft plant tissue, so they are not recommended for pruning roses or tip-pruning shrubs, as this could lead to dieback.

Another style, ratchet secateurs, are designed to cut through thicker stems up to 25mm in diameter. They have a mechanism that steps through in small increments each time you squeeze and release the handles.

HEDGE SHEARS

Shears are essential for shaping topiary, hedges, shrubs and groundcovers, as well as cutting back perennials and ornamental grasses. Even if you own a powered hedge trimmer, traditional shears are handy for fine-tuning the shape and finishing the pruning job with clean, healthy cuts after you’ve removed the bulk. Shears can have either straight or wavy blades. The wavy blades help to hold plant stems in place while you’re cutting them but are harder to sharpen. Some models offer a feature at the base of the blade that enables you to cut thicker, harder wood, but generally it’s best to revert to loppers or secateurs to avoid damaging the blades of your shears.

LOPPERS

Bigger blades and longer handles make loppers the tool of choice for cutting through thicker stems, normally 2–5cm in diameter. Apart from the extra power, long handles offer additional reach, which is useful for high and low cutting, and for reaching into thorny bushes. Some come with extendable handles. Like secateurs, there are bypass and anvil-blade loppers. Geared systems on selected models offer additional cutting power.

PRUNING SAW

You need a pruning saw to cut through branches greater than 5cm in diameter. Pruning saws have jagged teeth designed to rip through live wood. Blades are mostly curved and they cut on both the push and pull stroke, making the saw action effective when cutting above or below. Use long strokes to make use of the whole blade.

TELESCOPIC POLE PRUNER

This tool is just the thing to take care of those hard-to-reach stems and branches overhead. The pole typically extends from 2.4m to 4m in length, giving the average person a reach of up to 5.5m into a tree canopy. A regular pruning attachment has a curved blade designed to hook over a branch while the cutting blade, which is operated by a pull-down rope or sliding mechanism, slices through the wood.

The pruner can be either a bypass or a ratchet type, which reduces effort, and is good for cutting branches up to 35mm in diameter. Most pole pruners also have a saw attachment for cutting heavier wood.

Warning: pruning heavy branches that are overhead can be dangerous work. Always dismantle large branches in small, light sections, starting from the tip, and ensure the ground around the tree, where you are standing, is clear of obstacles.