The graft pruner is a hand-made gardening tool used by gardeners in the process of caring for plantings and for grafting trees on their land. It is important that not only an experienced gardener can use such a miracle tool, but also a novice gardener.
Tool description
This is a garden tool, the blades of which help to perform vaccination cuts. As it is known, the success of the vaccination directly depends on how well the sections on the graft and the stock will match.
The design of the blades is designed in such a way that the cuts on the graft and the stock perfectly match with each other without any additional fit, like puzzles. They can only be fastened together.
As practice shows, the use of such a tool results in 90-100% of effective vaccinations. 
To such pruners in the kit are knives of different shapes - V-shaped, U-shaped and Omega-shaped. These knives are made of steel and can be sharpened. Secateurs for grafting trees are very durable. According to the manufacturers, a resource for two or even three thousand sections is laid into such a tool.
Important! Shoots for grafting should be from 3-4 mm to 10-13 mm. The size depends on the softness of the wood.
How to use it?
Using the tool is not difficult at all. Even a novice gardener will be able to graft garden trees quickly and extremely efficiently. The process can be divided into four stages. Cuttings need to choose smooth, with unwrinkled bark.
- First you need to make a neat cut on the stock.
- Then the cut is done on the graft, only it must be reversed in shape to the previous cut. The shape of the knife is chosen the same as in the previous step.
- Graft and rootstock need to connect.
- At the end, wrap around the inoculation area with soft tape or twine. To enhance the fixation, you can use garden pitch.
It will be useful for you to learn about how to choose garden shears.
All pros and cons in favor of pruners
This tool for grafting fruit trees has both positive qualities and negative features.
pros
The main advantage is the high percentage of survival, which was mentioned earlier. Also to the advantages of using such a tool include:
- Ease, speed and simplicity of the performed work. Even an amateur gardener, who first decided to carry out such a procedure, will definitely cope with and make a quality vaccination.
- Not only thin, one-year shoots, but also more adults are subject to vaccination.
- The promised period of operation is very long. The tool is made of modern high quality materials, which allows it to be used from year to year without loss of efficiency.
- Thanks to a set of replaceable knives, it is possible to use a pruner for various kinds of wood.
Did you know? The first pruner was invented in France in 1815. Initially, it was used for pruning the vine. Later the tool was improved and used for trimming various bushes and knots.
Minuses
As minuses it is possible to consider such factors:
- The pruner for vaccinations is designed for shoots of identical diameter. The difference between the graft and the stock should be no more than 2-3 mm. Otherwise, you still have to use the knife.
- The thickness of the shoots for vaccination is limited to 13 mm.
- Price. To acquire a truly high-quality tool, you will most likely have to spend a considerable amount, which, of course, is incomparable with a regular knife.
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Criterias of choice
In order to purchase a quality garden tool, it is necessary when choosing to pay attention to a number of very important points.
- The sharpness of knives. Care must be taken to ensure that the blades are sharp. Some manufacturers produce secateurs, blades which are treated with Teflon, electrophoresis, or made of alloy steel. All this has a very positive effect on the convenience and durability of this garden tool. It is also important to check whether the blade is well attached to the handle.
- The type of spring connecting the pruning handles to each other is very important in the use of the tool. Belt springs, as practice shows, are more convenient.
- Cover pens. It will be more convenient if they are covered with rubberized material. Such a pruner will not slip in the hand, and also does not provoke the appearance of corns. The best option is the presence of a notch for a finger on the lower handle.
- The blade travel should be tight, and the gap between the blades should be minimal. If such requirements are met, the shoots will not be damaged and crushed during processing.
Important! The recommended thickness of the knife graft pruner - 1.5-2 mm.
Before buying a secateur, be sure to test it. Usually in the stores they give the gardener the opportunity to make cuts on trial shoots that are available for this purpose.
If this is not possible, you can even use a regular sheet of paper. The pruner should cut evenly and not rip the paper in the process.
