| Key Takeaways |
|---|
| • Match the tool to the branch: Use bypass pruners for twigs, loppers for mid-size branches, and a pruning saw for anything over 1 ½ inches. • Bypass versus anvil action: Scissor-action bypass tools protect live stems, while crushing anvil tools are best for dead growth. • Clean, sharp tools do better work: Sharpening and disinfecting your tools gives cleaner cuts and keeps plant disease from spreading. |
The right bush trimming tools make it easy to tame overgrown bushes, trees, and plants. The key is matching each tool to the branch size and job in front of you, from pocket-sized pruners for twigs to saws and hedge trimmers for bigger work.
This guide walks you through 10 must-have tools, when to reach for each one, and how to keep them in good working order.
Not sure a job is worth the tool investment? Sometimes the overgrowth is bad enough that handing it off to a bush trimming pro makes more sense than buying another tool.
Must-have bush trimming tools
The core bush trimming tools are bypass pruners, bypass snips, bypass loppers, anvil pruners, a pruning saw, a pole saw, a chainsaw, an electric hedge trimmer, a ladder, and safety gear. The right one depends on branch size and how high you need to reach.
Use this table to match the tool to the job, then read on for details on each.
| Tool | Branch size | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Bypass snips | Soft stems | Herbs, flowers, deadheading |
| Bypass pruners | Up to 1 inch | Small branches, shaping bushes |
| Bypass loppers | 1 ½ to 2 inches | Mid-size branches, extra reach |
| Anvil pruners | Dead stems | Clearing dead wood |
| Pruning saw | 1 ½ inches and up | Large branches, small trees |
| Pole saw | Overhead branches | High cuts without a ladder |
| Chainsaw | Heavy limbs | Cutting up fallen wood |
| Electric hedge trimmer | Tips of growth | Shearing formal hedges |
Bypass pruner
Bypass pruners will be your go-to tool to remove small branches and limbs around your landscape. These basic pruning shears (also known as secateurs or clippers) are your pocket-sized workhorse that will remove branches up to 1 inch (may vary by brand).
There are also electric pruning shears for homeowners who want to save wear and tear on their hands.
Why you need it: Bypass pruners are ideal to trim bushes, remove branches at the main stem to let more light in, and trim water sprouts or small tree limbs.
Pro tip: Several of these tools come in “bypass” or “anvil” versions, which describes the cutting action:
- Bypass: A scissor-like action where one blade runs alongside the other, best for living plant tissue.
- Anvil: One blade lands flat against another and crushes the stem, best for dead stems.
Mike Marlow, co-founder at Heroes Lawn Care in Omaha, Nebraska, says the key to a good pair of bypass pruners is to keep them in good condition.
“And if you do have a good pair of bypass shears the fastest way to ruin them is twisting or rocking the tool in the middle of a cut,” he says. “People do that because they’re trying to force it through a branch that’s too thick. That twisting bends the blades and loosens the pivot bolt. Once you get a gap between the blades, they won’t cut clean anymore.”
Bypass snips
Bypass snips are a smaller tool that is used for your lightest cutting jobs. Snips are ideal for non-woody plants. Like bypass pruners, the scissor action will cut, not crush, the live stems.
Why you need it: If you like to grow herbs and flowers, bypass snips are just the right size for clipping kitchen herbs or cutting flowers for floral displays. They’re also useful for deadheading.
Bypass lopper
Think of bypass loppers as a pair of extended arms that will reach farther into the canopy of your trees and bushes.
This tool removes bush or tree branches up to 1 ½ to 2 inches wide (varies by brand) and has long handles that give you that extra reach and leverage. This makes it easier on your back when you trim low shrubs.
Or, if you’re reaching high into a tree, you get several more inches of reach before you’ll need a ladder.
Why you need it: Bypass loppers are the cutting tool that handles jobs that are too large for bypass pruners but not large enough for a pruning saw. They also give extra length to reach high or low branches.
Marlow says he has seen too many homeowners buy a cheap pair. But you get what you pay for.
“I’ve spent years watching people make the same mistakes in the yard, and grabbing the flimsiest, cheapest loppers off the discount rack. They just bend, and they chew through branches instead of cutting them clean,” he says.
Anvil pruner
Use anvil pruners for cutting out dead wood. Their blade crushes down against a flat surface instead of slicing past it like bypass tools, so they damage live stems but power cleanly through dry, dead growth.
Like bypass pruners, they come in many sizes with short and long handles. They’re worth keeping on hand if you do landscaping work or clear a lot of dead material each season.
Why you need it: Great for removing dead wood in the off-season.
Pruning saw
Reach for a pruning saw on any branch too thick for loppers, roughly 1 ½ inches wide or larger. Its coarse teeth and thin, curved blade cut through wood a carpenter’s saw would bind on. Pruning saws come in different lengths and in straight blade or curved blade models.
They’re affordable, starting at under $20, and many smaller models fold into the handle so you can slip one in your back pocket.
Why you need it: A pruning saw takes care of larger branches and is indispensable if you need to prune a few branches from a tree.
Pole saw
A pole saw is to a pruning saw what loppers are to hand pruners: It extends your reach and allows several more feet of cutting length before you have to use a ladder. Pole saws come in manual, corded, battery-powered (cordless), and gas models.
Look for one with an extendable pole.
Why you need it: If you don’t like heights or ladders, buy a pole saw and keep your feet firmly on the ground. A pole saw gives you several extra feet of reach to remove branches that are too far off the ground for your loppers.
Chainsaw
After a heavy pruning job, you may want to cut up the wood for firewood or make it easier to haul away. If so, a chainsaw is a helpful tool. If you prefer a manual approach, a bow saw also works well.
Why you need it: Once your tree pruning session is over, a chainsaw makes quick work of cutting branches into smaller pieces.
Electric hedge trimmer
Use an electric hedge trimmer to shape formal hedges fast: It shears the tips off growing bushes and shrubs in one pass. Shear sparingly, though: Frequent shearing leaves a dense outer shell that shades out the plant’s interior.
Why you need it: Electric hedge trimmers are best used on tall and overgrown bushes. If these are something you can’t live without, they make quick work of shearing formal hedges.
Ladder
To prune trees, you need a specialty ladder. Look for an orchard ladder or tripod ladder. As you may surmise, these ladders are often used in smaller orchards to pick the bounty from fruit trees.
These ladders have three legs and allow you to trim (or pick scrumptious fruit) safely.
Why you need it: It’s a safer bet than a traditional ladder if you’re working in a tree.
Safety gear
As you haul out your pruning tools into the yard, don’t forget your safety gear. No one wants a pruning session to turn into an emergency room (ER) visit. Take precautions and prevent injury.
What you should have:
- Safety glasses or a face shield: protect your eyes from flying debris
- Gloves: guard against thorns, blisters, and nicks
- Hearing protection: for any gas or electric power tool
- Chainsaw chaps: cut-resistant leg protection when running a chainsaw
- Protective footwear: closed-toe boots with good grip
- Hard hat: when cutting anything overhead
Why you need it: An ounce of prevention is much preferred to a trip to the emergency room.
A dull garden tool is more dangerous than a sharp tool. In addition, keeping your tools sharp ensures a clean cut, prevents tearing the plant stems, and makes the work easier on you.
If the tool is spreading disease, that’s no good either. As you go from tree to tree, wipe your tools with rubbing alcohol or a diluted bleach solution. If you have a tree with diseased branches, clean the tool after you make each cut.
Clean cuts and clean tools go a long way in promoting plant health.
Sharpen: Keep blades sharp by running a hand file over hand tools whenever they start to get dull. Take your pruning saw to a professional for sharpening as needed.
Clean: Use horticultural cleaner, rubbing alcohol, or a diluted bleach solution to prevent disease and virus transfer from plant to plant.
Oil: If you’ve been cleaning your pruners between trees or bushes all day, oil them at the end of the day. This will prevent the water in the cleaners from corroding your tools.
Marlow makes sure he does all three steps to ensure his tools stay in good shape.
“Now if you want your tools to last, it’s just a quick routine. I wipe my blades with a little rubbing alcohol as I go, to get the sticky sap off and so I don’t spread plant diseases. At the end of the day, I spend like one minute running a diamond file over the edge. Then a few drops of oil on the pivot, so it doesn’t rust,” he says.
FAQs
Start by cutting out dead, damaged, and crossing branches, then thin up to one-third of the oldest, thickest stems at the base to open up the center. For badly overgrown shrubs, spread this hard pruning over two or three years so the plant recovers without stress.
Prune most deciduous shrubs in late winter or early spring while they are dormant, before new growth appears. Trim spring-flowering shrubs, such as lilac and forsythia, right after they bloom so you don’t cut off next year’s buds, and remove dead wood any time of year.
An electric hedge trimmer is the most effective tool for shaping formal hedges fast, shearing the tips off growing bushes and shrubs in one pass. Shear sparingly, though, because frequent shearing leaves a dense outer shell that shades out the plant’s interior. They work best on tall and overgrown bushes and make quick work of formal hedges.
Read more:
• When to Trim Bushes and Trees
• Difference Between Pruning and Trimming
• Landscaping: How to Trim Tall and Overgrown Bushes
Let Lawn Love handle the heavy lifting
Buying, maintaining, and hauling all these tools around the yard is a lot of work, and so is the trimming itself. If you would rather skip it, Lawn Love makes bush trimming easy.
Let one of Lawn Love’s local bush trimming providers get your bushes, trees, and plants pruned and ready for the season to come.
Main Photo: Pruning shears on fallen leaves. Photo Credit: Pixabay
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