Every gardener, even a beginner, has his own arsenal of tools, among which a pruner for tree grafting and other tools and devices have recently appeared. With its help, unnecessary shoots and branches are removed, shape decorative shrubs, stimulate plant growth and enhance tissue nutrition. In addition to the usual for all secateurs, manufacturers have released a new type - secateurs for grafting trees. Let's see what it is and what it can be useful for.
What are secateurs?
Thanks to technological progress, we have a lot of devices that perform various functions. Secateurs are no exception. Now these
garden shears do not have such a frightening appearance and are completely safe for their owner. They are technological, convenient and safe. Modern tools can be divided into:
garden pruner for pruning trees, for grafting, etc. They are of the following types:
- Pruning shears. It is used in work with young plants. The optimal shoot thickness does not exceed 20 mm.
- Secateurs with an anvil. Used to trim dry branches. Their thickness does not exceed 30 mm.
- Shrub secateurs. For pruning dry bushes.
- Secateurs with a step mechanism. With its help, both dry branches and young shoots are cut. Its advantage is that it is able to work with thick branches.
- Bypass secateurs. Used to cut thin and tender growing shoots.
- Secateurs for grafting trees.
We will dwell on the latter in more detail.
What is a vaccination secateurs and what is it for?
Gardeners manage to carry out from 90 to 100% successful vaccinations using a secateurs for tree vaccination, the price of which is affordable for many. The effect of such a tool is that special cuts are made on the scion and stock using a secateurs blade. As a result, gardeners get perfect cuts that contribute to the high compatibility of stock and scion. They are connected and securely fastened to each other. With it, grafting trees becomes the easiest thing to do. The quality of vaccinations now depends only on the quality of the grafted plants.
Most manufacturers supply the tree pruning shears with three types of nozzles: U-shaped, omega and V-shaped. Each of them is used to plant a specific type of tree. Such a tool is durable and has good performance. One such pruner is designed for 2-3 thousand slices.
How to choose a secateurs?
If you want to purchase a quality tool, when choosing it, pay attention to the following:
- The most important indicator for secateurs is the sharpness of the blades. Otherwise, the tool will be inconvenient to work. He will not cut the branch, but will shred it and tear it.
- The blade should hold very tightly in the handle.
- Handles should also be comfortable. It is better when the handles are rubberized, then the tool will not slip out of your hands during operation and will not injure you.
- Pay attention to the clearance between the blade and the handle. The smaller it is and the stroke of the blades is tighter, the better the cut on the plant will be.
Grafting Secateurs Benefits
A vaccination secateurs with a vaccination result does not require specialist skills. With it, even a beginner can plant a tree. With its use, the tree is grafted in a few minutes, which is good for the plant itself and for the gardener. Such convenience and ease of the process allows you to perform much more vaccinations, which means that the assortment of the garden will increase significantly, and experience will be added.
The disadvantages of using the graft secateurs
The grafting pruner is used only for shoots with the same width, only a couple of millimeters of difference is allowed. Otherwise, you still have to use a knife. Even if the shoots are the same thickness, but they are more than 12 mm or less than 4, the grafting will also fail, since such a pruner has a limit on the width of the shoot. In the omega-shaped nozzle, this take-off is even less than 7-12 mm. If you buy a high-quality vaccination secateurs, the price may seem overpriced.
Extend tool life
So, for high-quality and durable operation of a garden pruner, do not neglect the recommendations for its operation and storage conditions. Otherwise, this will adversely affect the condition of the tool.
The tree pruning shears need the same care as any other gardening tool. After using it, clean its blades from any residual vegetation adhering to pruning. Rid the blades of dirt, dust, and sap from trees and shrubs. It is forbidden to wash the pruner in water or leave it in the rain.
The spring mechanism, blades and retaining clip can rust very quickly. This applies to cheap models. More expensive or professional tools can be rinsed under running water without any fear and get rid of all the debris that has stuck to it during operation. After this procedure, thoroughly wipe the blade with a dry cloth, and the spring is best lubricated with cementitious material or oil. Take a cloth soaked in oil on all metal parts. This procedure is recommended after each use of the secateurs.
Sharpen the blades yourself
Over time, pruning blades may become dull. In order to maintain their condition in good condition, they need to be sharpened from time to time. This procedure is carried out in the case when when cutting the branches it becomes noticeable that the knives bite into the branch only half and do not cut it.
In order to return the blades to their former sharpness, it is not enough just to work with a bar. It’s tedious to choose the right movements and direction. So, for the convenience of sharpening, it is better to remove the blades. If this is not possible, then you need to firmly fix the secateurs in a certain position, for this you can use a vise. After that, the blades are passed along the blades in one direction as if they were sharpening knives. This action is repeated until the knives are sharp enough, then they are placed back on the tool.
What we have?
So, the pruning shears for trees can be attributed to a very useful and necessary tool. In the summer cottage he will certainly find a place. Especially this tool will be appreciated by avid gardeners. However, if you rarely vaccinate, and in the conditions of your garden the tool has more minuses than pluses, you should consider learning how to plant trees without special tools.