Cutting Tools and Accessories

In winter and spring, there's a lot of cutting to do in the garden—perennials and roses, hedges, shrubs, or trees. Each plant needs different treatment with various cutting tools. But what do you use for what? The right choice is often half the battle.

There's a suitable pair of shears for every purpose: garden, lawn edge, or hedge shears, tree, or branch pruners. One-handed garden shears are among the most frequently used cutting tools. They're used, for example, when pruning flowers and roses.

You mainly use lawn shears to maintain lawn edges, but they can also "shape" boxwood or shrubs. Lawn shears are available as simple hand-held or cordless models. The latter can sometimes be extended with a telescopic handle, allowing for back-friendly work.

For hedge trimming, cordless or electric shears are predominantly used in the garden. You need to be careful here, as the blades often develop enormous cutting power. You can quickly cut through cables and fence wires. Devices with a run-on time are especially dangerous. Therefore, you must protect your fingers and hands, but also your legs.

You use loppers for the "rough stuff" – meaning for thick branches starting at about 2 cm in diameter. Depending on the type, they can cut through branches up to 5 cm thick.

Tree pruners are for "height," meaning they can be extended so you don't need a ladder for work in the tree canopy or when trimming tall hedges. This requires a sophisticated power transmission system, for example, through a pulley-operated rope system. This way, they can cut branches 3 to 4 cm thick at heights up to about five meters, and even up to 6.50 meters with a telescopic extension.

For thicker branches, you'll need garden saws. Folding garden saws are practical. They are safe to use both open and closed, thanks to a locking mechanism. This tool has a blade with two different tooth sets – fine teeth for dry, seasoned, hard wood and coarse teeth for fresh, wet wood. Using the blades is simple: you just slide from "coarse" to "fine."

There are many reasons to prune hedges, trees, and fruit bushes – whether it's to thin them out for better air circulation and light within the canopy or shrub, to remove diseased and dead shoots, to keep fast-growing trees "in check" so they don't grow too tall, or to correct their growth. Consistent growth and a manageable height make both fruit harvesting and maintenance much easier.

The best time for winter pruning is early March, on frost-free days just before bud break. This allows trees and shrubs to quickly "cope" with the resulting wounds and permanently close them. If the cuts are larger than two centimeters, they should be treated with a wound sealant to prevent pathogens like fungi from entering.

Bulky plant debris and cut branches can be tied together and added to your organic waste bin. However, this "waste" can also be shredded and returned to the garden's nutrient cycle through composting.

Garden shredders significantly reduce the volume of garden waste. Modern "silent shredders" operate relatively quietly these days, allowing you to converse while you work in the garden.

Especially small-leaved plants like boxwood or conifers create bothersome green clippings when pruned, which are difficult to pick up. A simple solution is to place a bedsheet under the plant while you're cutting. However, a sturdy protective and collection tarp can handle even thorny hedge trimmings. Some manufacturers even offer tarps with convenient handles at the corners, making it easy to transport the cuttings away.

When cutting bulky or large plants, special cutting gloves provide secure protection. Puncture-resistant materials and a reinforced palm offer thorn protection when disposing of thorny branches. Snug cuffs prevent snagging on shrubs or trees. For additional protection against arm injuries during more extensive work, an underarm cut protection is also available.