Bypass Pruners

Posted by Chris Molnar
July 13th, 2009
Filed in Product Reviews

Bypass pruners are one garden tool that no gardener should live without. Once you prune your roses, or your lilacs with a high-quality pair of bypass pruners, you will never pick up a pair of scissors or anvil pruners again!

Bypass pruners produce the cleanest pruning cut because they work less like a knife and more like scissors. A very sharp, well-maintained pair of anvil pruners can work well, too, but most home gardeners don’t keep their anvil pruners sharp enough to cut cleanly. Using dull anvil pruners is like using a dull knife to cut something like a tomato or an eggplant. You can probably do it, but you’ll crush what you’re cutting while you cut it.

Bypass pruners work by holding the object to be cut in place while a sharp cutting blade passes through the object, bypassing the blade that holds the object in place. This is most easily explained in the diagram shown.

To keep your plants healthy, and prune cleanly, use bypass pruners in the garden.

• Bypass pruners from Felco are my prefered type. You can purchase them at Gardener’s Supply.