A gardener is like a surgeon and a hairdresser at the same time, it is necessary to remove a dried or extra branch of a tree, form a crown or rejuvenate the entire bush, giving all the branches to a stump, cut off flowering plants, cut the central point of growth for a bouquet shape of a flower. Like a surgeon’s scalpel or a barber’s scissors and clipper, a gardener needs secateurs, the size and shape of the blade of which is appropriate for the type of work.
Pruning is formative and sanitary.
Forming haircut and trimming
It is carried out in order to create and preserve the shape of the crown or the uniform arrangement of skeletal branches; thinning of the thickened crown; to enhance flowering or fruiting. Formative haircut is designed for the aesthetic shape of a tree (bonsai, Jerusalem artichoke, etc.).
Secateurs, garden shears, pruning shears, etc. are used for formative pruning.
Sanitary pruning
Sanitary pruning is carried out all year round: diseased and dead parts of the plant are removed or cut off.
Rejuvenating pruning is carried out as needed.
Pruning is done in the spring before the start of sap flow or in the fall after the leaves fall.
When the snow melts in the spring, it’s time for sanitary pruning: in paniculate and tree hydrangea, remove dry inflorescences and cut the stems to 4 buds, after opening the winter shelter of the roses, cut to the healthy part of the stem – for this, you need to choose secateurs that do not block the branch.
It can be a secateurs with an anvil, in which the blades do not move relative to each other, but are on the same line, or a bypass (bypass) secateurs, which also has one working knife and a second one that acts as a stop. The blades are offset along the cutting line, which is why they differ from analogues with an anvil.
Cleaning the lignified stems of perennial herbaceous plants sticking out of the ground after the snow falls (such as chrysanthemums, cleaning) in the flowerbed does not matter in principle and the universal secateurs can be used.
After the May flowering of lilac and perennial poppies, the remains are also removed with a universal secateur.
For roses, cutting with a universal secateur is undesirable.
As for work in the vineyard, it is necessary to take a detour. or with an anvil.
Cutting lilies and other flowers, cleaning dried leaves of irises is possible with a universal secateur.
Secateurs with a ratchet mechanism
Secateurs with a ratchet mechanism are very convenient for thinning and cleaning tall branches.
In fact, this is an ordinary secateur, only it has several stages of pruning branches due to the ratchet mechanism.
The ratchet mechanism ensures trimming of both live and dry branches.
It works according to the following principle: when cutting a thick branch, with each press, the blades are fixed in a certain position, the blades cannot open back until they are fully extended.
So, to cut off one branch, it is necessary to assemble the blades in several stages (2-3 times).
First, it puts less strain on the user’s hands.
Secondly, there is less damage to the cut itself.
The task of the ratchet mechanism is to reduce the work effort due to cutting the branch in several stages. Unfortunately, the ratchet mechanism in practice chews through the wood of the branch.
So, a gardener should have an average universal secateur; secateurs that do not clog wood; high-altitude pruning shears, which allows you to remove thick branches at a height.
In conclusion, I would like to add that secateurs for garden work should be safe, well sharpened, durable and convenient.
Do not forget to take care of them, using special lubricants. Regularly clean and monitor the sharpness of the blades, observe safety techniques when working with any garden equipment.
The more carefully you monitor it, the longer it will serve you. In turn, the cleanliness of the blades is necessary to prevent the spread of fungal and viral diseases from one plant to another.
You can buy secateurs and other garden tools in the garden equipment section of the Florium online store.
Sincerely, experienced gardener Olesya.
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Published: 21.12.2019
