The right tool for the job
January is the pruning season. It’s when you become the garden
surgeon, cutting your trees and roses, and your tools are your
medical instruments. You need the best and sharpest tools in order
to prune your trees, shrubs and vines.
January is the pruning season. It’s when you become the garden surgeon, cutting your trees and roses, and your tools are your medical instruments. You need the best and sharpest tools in order to prune your trees, shrubs and vines.
There are dozens of shears, loppers, saws and power pruning tools available. Two rules here: You don’t need every single tool on the market. But what you do buy should be the best-quality tool you can afford.
Check the different shapes, sizes, weight and cutting ability of the tool. Consider your own strength and what you plan to prune. Grip the shears and hold the saw. Buy only what feels comfortable to you. Pick the right tool for your jobs. You don’t need heavy-duty loppers if you’re trimming a single rose bush, and you certainly don’t need a chain saw to prune one little apple tree.
Here are some hints:
* Hand shears: Make sure the shears feel comfortable in your grasp, but be wary of the very lightweight ones. The shears should be able to cut all the way through a branch in one snip. “Sawing” through the branch will mash and damage the branch.
Two types of shears are available. Anvil shears work like a blade striking against a piece of metal. The hook-and-curved shears, called bypass shears, are like scissors slicing across the branch. Both types have their followers. My preference is for bypass shears because they cut closer to the branch without leaving a stub.
The price range is from about $8 to $25, depending on style, cutting edge and brand name. Fiskar and Corona shears are among the best quality, but others from England and Japan are also well made. .
* Loppers: These are needed to cut through branches more than 1/2 inch in diameter.
Loppers come with lighter-weight metal handles and heavyweight wooden handles. A pair with lighter-weight handles works fine for close up work such as thorny rose bushes. A pair with long handles and heavy cutting edge is suitable to all kinds of tree and shrub work
Like the hand shears, loppers have either bypass or anvil cutting edges. Some models have adjustable handle lengths and better models also have a bumper or spring action near the jaws to avoid shock to the arms. The biggest problem is finding loppers that do not literally wear you out. Holding heavy loppers overhead while cutting tree branches gets very tiring very easily. Your shoulders will ache for days.
The average price for quality loppers is about $25, but they can range up to $60 with lightweight easier-to-use models costing the most. Determine just how much cutting you plan to do with your loppers and then buy a pair that fits your need. This would be the time, perhaps, to buy both a lightweight model and heavy-duty loppers, because one pair does not necessarily fit all jobs.
* Handsaw: Branches more than 1-inch thick should be cut with a hand pruning saw. That’s the easy part. The hard part is deciding just which saw to buy. Look at the teeth. A pruning saw cuts only on the pull stroke. Teeth are set in a wide “V” so it is easier to cut through green wood. Some saws have deep-set raker teeth, a deep slot every fifth tooth to carry away sawdust, which is best for green wood. A saw with teeth all the same length and size is best for cutting deadwood.
The most popular is the curved saw with a blade that comes to a point so that the tool can be inserted between closely spaced branches. You could buy either the folding model or the rigid-handle saw. The folding saw, in which the blade folds into the handle, is easier to carry around. But the rigid-handle model is more versatile and easier to grip.
If you buy a folding saw, check the safety feature that locks the saw into position. You can buy a good saw of either model for under $20.
*Pole saws and pole pruners. Use these extension tools to cut branches beyond your arm’s reach. The cutting devices are at the end of a fiberglass, metal or wooden pole, although the fiberglass style is far lighter and therefore easier to use. Be cautious in using these tools around electric wires.
Another word of caution when working on trees and using a ladder: To avoid toppling a ladder in soft, wet soil, place pieces of 1-by-8-inch wood under the ladder’s feet.
And if all of this sounds beyond your reach or ambition, check the Yellow Pages under Trees for a tree professional to do the work.
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A Reader Wants to Know: My yard is so wet. How can I tell when it’s OK to dig in the flowerbeds to plant some more annuals? What about digging to plant new bareroot roses?
Joan Says: It usually takes from five to seven days from the last rain for soil to dry out for digging. But sometimes it’s longer, and occasionally (with well-draining soil) it’s shorter. Scoop up a handful of soil and squeeze it in your fist. It is sticks together like Silly Putty, it’s too wet. If it crumbles and falls from your hand, go ahead and dig in. This squeeze-and-feel rule applies for everything from shallow digging for annuals to deep digging for bareroot trees and roses.
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Tip of the Week:
Artichokes, asparagus, blackberries, grapes, raspberries and strawberries are available in bareroot for planting now.
