Why it’s important to service your secateurs ahead of pruning season

When winter’s dryer air and lower temperatures draw in, it’s time to focus on getting our gardens ready for hibernation. Maintaining the health and shape of your trees, shrubs, and flowers depends heavily on pruning. Most garden enthusiasts will prune their plants in winter in preparation for spring. Have you thought about maintaining your trusted secateurs before you need them?

At Cutting Edge, we provide GARDENA secateurs and pruning equipment in Zimbabwe and recognise the importance of pre-season servicing. But what are the benefits of maintaining your secateurs before winter trimming and how will it help your garden flourish when spring rolls around?

Why you need to service your secateurs

When using secateurs in the garden, consider them an extension of your hand. For maximum effectiveness and longevity, proper maintenance is needed – just like with any other cutting tool. This is why it’s a smart investment to service your secateurs before winter pruning.

Clean, sharp blades minimise harm to your plants by making precise cuts. Plant stems can be torn and crushed by dull blades, increasing their susceptibility to illness and impeding normal growth. We recommend buying new blades for your secateurs before your seasonal pruning begins.

A well-serviced pair of secateurs will take less strain on your wrists and hands. Consider the contrast between slicing through a branch with ease and fumbling with a dull blade. By keeping up with routine maintenance, you can save money on replacements by reducing wear and tear on your secateurs.

Lastly, when pruning, dull or damaged blades can pose a risk to safety since they raise the possibility of slipping or losing control. Maintaining your secateurs properly guarantees their safe and efficient operation.

How to maintain your secateurs

This is a basic how-to for maintaining your secateurs in preparation for winter pruning. Don’t forget to refer to your particular secateur handbook for more comprehensive servicing instructions:

• Cleaning – Use a moist cloth to remove dirt, sap, and debris from the secateurs’ body and blades.
• Sharpening – The upper blade of the bypass secateurs is crucial for optimal cutting performance. Both a whetstone and a diamond sharpening tool can be used to sharpen blunt bypass blades. Sharpening the anvil itself is necessary for anvil secateurs, and it’s usually best left to the pros. However, we often find it more cost-effective to simply replace the blades with brand new ones.
• Oiling – Dredge the hinge and spring mechanism of your secateurs in a thin layer of light machine oil. This guarantees smooth operation and lowers friction.
• Spring replacement – The cutting power of your secateurs may decrease due to the springs losing tension over time. Consider swapping out the spring for an authentic GARDENA replacement component if you notice a reduction in cutting force or if the blades don’t open completely on their own.

Extra advice for the best secateur maintenance

Always keep your secateurs dry and clean in a cool, sheltered place when not in use. Keep the blades open as the edges may become dull if the blades are stored closed. After usage, clean your secateurs with a disinfectant solution to stop plant diseases from spreading to other plants, especially after trimming sick plants.

Steer clear of cutting hard objects, like wire, metal, and other materials that are not intended for cutting with secateurs; they are meant for pruning plants only. By doing this, you risk damaging the blades and lowering their effectiveness.

Cutting Edge takes pride in providing a selection of premium GARDENA secateurs that may be used for pruning in Zimbabwean gardens and farms. We have the ideal tools for any pruning task, from bypass secateurs for making precise cuts on fragile stems to anvil secateurs for taking on strong branches.

Features of GARDENA secateurs

GARDENA secateurs have ergonomic handles that reduce hand fatigue during prolonged pruning sessions, as part of its comfort-focused design. GARDENA also makes use of strong, anti-rust materials that guarantee enduring dependability and performance.

Many of these secateurs have features like integrated sap removers and simple blade replacement that make maintenance easier. Cutting Edge offers after-sales care and servicing on all GARDENA secateurs sold, so if you’d rather have professionals service your pair, you can bring them to our workshop at 159 Citroen Road, Msasa.

You can make sure that your winter pruning experience is easy, effective, and satisfying by buying high-quality tools like GARDENA and maintaining your secateurs ahead of the season. These gardening tools are available at Cutting Edge and the major hardware stores throughout Zimbabwe. Contact us today to learn more about our gardening tools.

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Cutting Edge is the leading supplier of Husqvarna products in Zimbabwe. We bring you the best tools in the business with world-class service and after sales care. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and product offerings from our brands.