When should I choose bypass pruners over anvil pruners?

Deciding between bypass and anvil pruners is more important than most gardeners recognize. A bad choice can damage plants and stress your hands. I have saved countless gardens where someone used the wrong pruners and spread disease. If you know the specific scenarios for using bypass pruners, it will save your investment.

When pruning live green growth such as roses, tomatoes, and fruit tree limbs, always choose bypass pruners. The blades are like a pair of scissors: they cut the plant clean without crushing delicate tissue which can invite disease. This is essential when cutting near the budded are of the plant; rough cuts are more inviting to infections. Thus, my rose bushes are still healthy and growing wonderfully because of this care when pruning.

Bypass pruners can provide significant advantages in vegetable gardens. The soft stems of basil plants and the suckers that grow from the sides of tomato plants should be pruned with surgical precision. Using anvil pruners would destroy these plants. I am harvesting much healthier crops now that I heal only with bypass tools in my edible garden. Clean cuts will heal faster.

Precision pruning needs bypass pruners. As you approach leaf nodes or flower buds, your margin for error disappears. In my observations, apple trees recover much quicker from a proper bypass cut versus an anvil wound from crushing the stem. The healing occurs within days instead of weeks and preserves plant vitality.

Make no compromises when it comes to the tools you choose to work with live plant material. If you find yourself in need, you could even borrow or rent appropriate bypass pruners. The plant will show its gratitude by producing vigorous to exuberant new growth and helping to keep diseases under control. My garden journal benchmarks results over fifteen seasons of using proper bypass pruners - year after year.

Read the full article: Bypass vs Anvil Pruners: Key Differences