11 Best Pruning & Garden Shears of 2022

✔️ Blade type: There are three basic types of pruning shears: anvil, bypass and ratchet. To choose the right operating style to fit your needs, take a look at the size of your plants and their stems (how flexible or sturdy are they?), and consider how often you’ll be using your shears:

• Anvil is best for cutting woody stems and branches.
• Bypass is best for pruning or trimming flexible stems or green wood.
• Ratchet is best for tough stems or for gardeners with small or weak hands.
• Straight blade is best for small cuts and fine work.

✔️ Size and handle design: You’re going to want clippers that fit well in your hand, so you can prune your plants without any hand pain. “Look for pruning shears that have a comfortable grip — usually a rubber handle is most comfortable,” says Eva Bleyer, a product review analyst the Good Housekeeping Institute and an avid indoor gardener. “Pruning can take time and you don’t want your hands to tire or blister.” If you’re left-handed, seek out a pair specifically designed for lefties.

✔️ Locking latch: For safety reasons, all pruning shears should have some sort of lock to keep the shears shut when they’re not being used. “Make sure your shears close and latch, so you or others don’t get hurt — and be careful,” advises Steinkopf.

Cutting away dead leaves, stems and branches encourages healthy plant growth, deters infestation and can prevent future damage if your plant has started to die. You’ll know your plant is due for a pruning when the leaves are “straggly, floppy or just simply overgrown,” Steinkopf says. You may also want to prune your plants when they are getting too large or if you want to propagate them, she adds.

If you’re wondering if you can just use a pair of household scissors instead of pruning shears to trim your plants, gardening masters say it’s best not to.

“A sharp pair of scissors will do the job, but for the best results, a good pair of shears will make a sharp clean cut, allowing the plant to repair any damage more quickly,” says Caro Langton of Studio RoCo. Steinkopf agrees that “scissors may crush the stems instead of giving them a clean cut.”

✔️ Cleaning: Pick durable shears that are easy to take apart so that you can deep clean them at least once per season. In between uses, Ray suggests “keeping your shear blades clean by wiping them with rubbing alcohol, which will help stop any infection spreading when making your cuts.”

✔️ Sharpening: “Look for shears with sharp blades that can be sharpened if needed,” says Bleyer. “The sharper the blades, the less struggle there is to cut thick flower stems or branches and less chance of getting hurt.” You can shop for a pruning tool sharpener or a sharpener for scissors.

This roundup was written by Alyssa Gautieri, an associate lifestyle editor for Good Housekeeping, who covers all things home, design and gardening. To make her selections, Alyssa researched and vetted pruning shears that have received overwhelmingly positive reviews on Amazon, as well as bestsellers from popular gardening tool companies. She also interviewed two gardening experts who shared their recommendations and tips for buying pruners, and she consulted two expert product testers from the Good Housekeeping Institute (who happen to be avid indoor and outdoor gardeners!) for their insights.