Just flipped on using flush cuts for pruning

I always thought regular shears were fine for trimming branches. Then I watched a neighbor damage 3 of his camellias with ragged cuts last spring. Anyone else found flush cutters reduce dieback on smaller stems?

2 comments

2 Comments

julia_hayes2d agoMost Upvoted

Felt the same way until I tried lopping shears on thicker stems and saw way less damage.

linda6262d ago

My husband used to use those cheap bypass pruners on everything, including our lilac bush one summer. Ended up with these sad little stubs that never bloomed again. A guy at the garden center told me to switch to a sharp pair of anvil pruners for anything under half an inch, and it made a world of difference. Now I just use the regular shears for deadheading flowers and soft growth, not actual branches.