In fact, pruning shears that do not fit you perfectly can be a disaster. They can easily cause strained wrists or unwanted harm during your work. But how do you choose the one that works best for you when all of them seem to be the same thing? Read on to find our list of best pruning shears just for you.
There is a wide range of products available on the market today, and below I have reviewed 5 of the very best options.
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**Below, you will find more detailed reviews, but you can also click the links above to see current prices and read customer reviews on Amazon.
What is a pruning shear?
Even if you are not familiar with gardening, chances are you may have heard or seen a pruning shear. A pruning shear or prune is a tool mainly used in gardening to trim and shape plants. Pruning is an incredibly important step to keep your plant healthy and bushy, which has been proved by science.
As pruning is the act of cutting dead or overgrown tree branches or stems, there are a wide variety of pruners made to cater for diverse needs of any gardener. Pruning shears are recommended for small duty gardening while pruning saws; pole saws or loppers are used for heavier work.
You may also like: Arlington arborists for trimming your trees
The benefits of a pruning shear
As mentioned above, pruning is an indispensable part of gardening. Like any other gardening chores, pruning can breathe a new life into your garden. That’s why it is important to find the best pruning shear for your garden. A plant that is left untrimmed is likely to die.
By cutting away dead or overgrown parts of your flowers or plants, you are giving your plants a chance to grow bigger and better. Just like watering, proper pruning is crucial to the survival of any plant because it will remove unhealthy parts while promoting the growth of healthy parts of your plants.
How to prune your trees
Learning how to prune your trees can be tricky to many beginners, especially when it takes a lot of guesswork to determine when and how to prune your plants. Since each type of plants requires different trimming techniques, a lot of amateur gardeners have cold feet about the task.
Nevertheless, pruning is not as complicated as you think. By keeping in mind the following principles, you will soon be able to master the task of pruning. To start, you will need the best pruning shears that fit your needs, which we will help you with the list of five recommended pruners in the next parts.
When to prune
Here comes the confusing part of figuring when is the right time to prune your plants. Mid and late winter is considered a good time to prune, but not all plants follow this timeline. There are some certain rules of thumb to keep in mind depending on the types of plants in your garden.
For flowering trees and shrubs, it is safe to prune in the dormant season or soon after the fading of flowers. The same applies for fruiting plants, which should be pruned around the dormant season. Evergreen trees, on the other hand, do not need pruning, which is a relief for gardening enthusiasts.
How to prune
Now that you have your idea about when you should prune your trees, it’s time to move to the pruning technique. Pruning is not simply about cutting any dead or unwanted branch you happen to see.In fact, there are two basic cuts every gardener should know, namely the thinning and the heading cut.
Thinning cuts are the dominant type of cuts when it comes to pruning as they remove unnecessary branches and stems of your plants. This type of cuts will prevent your plants from overgrowing. Thinning cuts are mostly used when you prune your roses or lavenders for example. Heading cuts, on the other hand, aim to control the way your plants grow and look such as a bonsai tree for instance.
Here’s a video that will help you differentiate between the thinning and heading cuts:
How to select the best pruning shear
Apparently, every gardener wants the best pruning shears for his or her garden. But not everyone knows how to look for the best pruning shears. To successfully securing the best one for yourself, you will need to consider the following factors.
Types of pruning shear
The type of pruners you see fit must be the first thing to consider. Pruning shears can be categorized into two main groups based on the design of the blades, which are the bypass pruners and the anvil pruners. The first type has curved blades while the second type has straight blades. There’s also another type called ratchet pruners which are similar to anvil pruners but offer sectional cuts.
Bypass pruners cut through woods with two curved blades which resemble the blades of scissors while Anvil pruners cut with one straight blade. Due to this difference, a bypass pruner works best with most pruning tasks whereas the anvil one works best with dead wood.
Blade conditions
Blades are obviously the most important part in any pruning shear. Therefore, you need to look for pruning shears with excellent blades. The best pruning shear should have high-quality blades made from hardened or carbon steel. The blades can also be coated with a protective substance to resist sap.
The opening of the blades should be checked as well as tightly held blades will offer better and stronger cuts.
Handle design
The design of the handle is the next factor to keep in your mind. Many gardeners tend to skip this factor, but in fact, a cleverly-designed and comfortable handle can totally take your gardening experience to the next level.
The best pruning shear should have comfortable handles that do not cause strain or fatigue in your wrist and arm after prolonged usage. Quite a few pruning shears offer soft-grip handles, cushioned handles or rotating handles with angled blades to make your pruning less laborious.
Maintenance and replacement
One more factor that should also be taken into considerations is the maintenance and availability of replacement parts of your pruning shears. It’s going to be a waste of money if you purchase some expensive pruners that come without options to be maintained or replaced.
A reliable pruning shear will last for a rather long time, but it’s good to choose one whose replacement parts are readily available so that any damaged or worn out parts can be instantly changed. If you mostly need your pruner for light duty work such as
Locking mechanism
Last but not least, the final thing to consider is the locking mechanism of the pruning shear. You wouldn’t want a pruner without a proper locking mechanism as it may accidentally hurt you or others who try using it. A locking mechanism will make sure your pruner stay locked tight if unused. Safety first, right?
Product Reviews – The Best Pruning Shear
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1. Fiskars Traditional Bypass Pruning Shears
The first option in our list comes from the Fiskars Traditional Bypass Pruning Shears, which remains one of the bestselling pruners. There’s hardly anything that can make you hate this pruning shear. It gets the job done at an affordable price with a lifetime warranty. Need we say more?
Pros
- Perfect for most general pruning tasks
- Made from hardened steel with high durability
- Extra sharp blade and thus less pressure required to cut wood
- Hassle-free locking mechanism
- Reasonable price with decent quality
Cons
- Plastic handles that do not ensure maximum comfort
- The coating of the blades is not very durable
- Not compatible with heavy-duty pruning
2. ClassicPRO Titanium Pruning Shears
While the first one may not be the best pick for heavy-duty pruning, this Classic Pro Titanium Pruning Shears by Haus & Garten is the answer to everything heavy-duty. This model offers a wide variety of innovative and desirable features of the best pruning shear, including razor-sharp cutting power, an ergonomically designed handle, and versatile pruning.
Pros
- This model offers good grip and strong, sharp and smooth cuts
- Blades are coated with titanium to offer more durability
- Anti-slip cushioned long handle pruning safer and more comfortable
- A micrometric adjustable system ensures precision in pruning
- The handles can act as a shock-absorbing pad as well in case of slipping and dropping
- Excellent choice for pruning roses
Cons
- Not suitable for left-handed people
- Made to accommodate medium to large hands, so you will struggle with this model if you have small hands
3. Felco F-7 Gardening Hand Pruner with Rotating Handle
This Felco hand pruner shares a lot of similarities with the second one on our list except for the rotating handle, which makes it even more attractive among all the available pruner models.What sets this hand pruner apart from others is that it can last for a long time with equally satisfactory quality.
Another special feature of this pruner is that it is compatible with those who have arthritis or other similar conditions. Felco pruners are always enjoying a great popularity over other brands thanks to their enhanced details and functions. This pruner is considered by many to have made such a gardening chore become an effortless process.
Pros
- Made of high-quality hardened steel to ensure maximum durability
- Clean, smooth and precise cuts
- Easy to use and adjust
- Every part is replaceable
- Rotating handle allows more comfort than other models when it comes to continuous pruning
Cons
- Rotating handle may unexpectedly slide off
- A bit more expensive than other models
4. Corona ClassicCUT Forged Bypass Pruner BP 3180D
If you are seeking for a more reasonable option for pruners, you won’t go wrong with this Corona Forged Bypass Pruner. Marketed as a heavy-duty pruner, this model offers decent quality blades constructed from heat-treated, forged steel alloy. The blades are also claimed to be both replaceable and resharpenable, which can be a plus for many gardeners.
Pros
- Good value for the price
- Replaceable parts including blades, springs, and screws
- Sharp blades that make strong and smooth cuts
Cons
- The cut is not as quick and smooth as some pruners
- Suitable for large hands only
- Blade is not made from durable steel
- Some parts need to be replaced soon due to quick rusting
5. Gardenite Anvil Hand Power Drive Ratchet Pruning Shears
This product is arguably the best pruning shear that belongs to the ratchet type. The pruner itself is made of highly durable materials with its blades being made of excellent carbon steel. Moreover, the blades are further coated to maximize the cutting power and the blade’s durability.
What’s notable about this Gardenite Pruning Shear is its ratcheting mechanism that allows effortless yet powerful and flexible pruning. The ratcheting mechanism also reduces the pressure required in pruning. Therefore, those with small or less strong hands are still able to use this pruner.
Pros
- Great value for the price
- Highly durable with an ergonomic design
- Suitable for smaller hands and women
Cons
- Quite difficult to use locking mechanism
- Slow cutting in comparison with other pruners
Choosing the Best Pruning Shears that Every Gardener Will Love
Hope you have right decisions on the best pruning shears for your garden with our suggestions. Although there are dozens of pruning shears out there that are likely to make you confused, you can still find the one you need by looking at our suggested factors before purchasing or read our reviews above.
For more interesting and helpful tips on gardening, feel free to check out our fabulous blog here.
