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How to use Gardena secateurs

Updated: 22 October 2026

You have the pair in your hand, and the question is which way the blade faces, how hard you squeeze, and when you stop. This is how to use Gardena secateurs on the stems they are stated for: a sharp bypass blade on live wood, inside 22, 24 or 25 mm depending on the row, then a clean and a drop of oil. The ranking stays on the [Gardena secateurs](/hub/garden-tree-and-hedge-shears/gardena-secateurs) comparison. Peter F. used RHS guidance, GOV.UK notes on protected trees and wild birds, and the files here. There was no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have the pair in your hand, and the question is which way the blade faces, how hard you squeeze, and when you stop.

Our top picks

Gardena PremiumCut Flex bypass

Best overall

Gardena PremiumCut Flex bypass
9.2/10about £13.58
View offer
Gardena PremiumCut Pro Flex bypass

Rank 2

Gardena PremiumCut Pro Flex bypass
9.2/10about £24.99
View offer
Gardena PremiumCut Pro Dry Wood

Alternative

Gardena PremiumCut Pro Dry Wood
9.2/10about £19.15
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.The cut
  2. 2.Clean and sharpen
  3. 3.When the stem or the height is too much
  4. 4.Wildlife and protected trees

The cut

Start with living wood and a bypass blade. Which action belongs on which wood is the bypass or anvil page. Seat the stem deep in the notch, not in the tips, and close once. If you are chewing in three bites, the stem is too thick or the blade is blunt. Place the flat side of the cutting blade toward the bud you are keeping, and the hook on the piece that will fall. Ceilings are 22 mm on the Fresh Wood title, 24 mm on Flex, Pro Flex and Pro Dry Wood, and 25 mm on the Alu title. The Alu field that says 25 cm is a conflict. If the tool is a blade on a block, read the dry wood limits before you touch a rose. The Alu bullets state a single-hand safety lock. Most PremiumCut bullets do not.

Clean and sharpen

Wipe sap off the blade before it hardens. If you have cut diseased wood, the RHS cleaning guidance is to disinfect between plants. A sticky pivot makes the handles spring back slowly, and a forced close crushes the stem. Gardeners’ World’s order is clean, then stone the bevel, then oil. Sharpen the angled side only and keep the flat side flat. Rounding that flat face is how a bypass pair starts to tear. Oil the pivot, then wipe the surplus. Gardena’s 2025 press note says newer secateurs can be dismantled for cleaning. The amazon bullets do not include a hex key, and a home repair can end the warranty. One UK review on Pro Flex said the spring lever snapped and was not replaceable.
Gardena PremiumCut Flex bypass

Testsieger

Gardena PremiumCut Flex bypass
9.2/10about £13.58
View offer

When the stem or the height is too much

Stop when the stem is past the stated millimetres, when you need a ladder, or when the wood is in a power line. Loppers take the next thickness. A pruning saw takes the limb a lopper will not hold. Secateurs stay at a height you can reach with your feet on the ground.

Wildlife and protected trees

GOV.UK guidance says trimming can harm nests, so leave a hedge until the birds have gone. In England, lopping a tree under a tree preservation order needs written consent, with narrow exceptions such as dead wood and urgent danger. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own tree rules. Call an arborist for a protected tree, a ladder, a nest, or wood near a power line. Do not paint the wound.

Common questions

Which way round should the bypass blade face the bud I am keeping?
Put the flat side of the cutting blade against the wood you are keeping, so the bud sits on that flat side and the hook is on the waste. Any bruising then falls on the piece you remove. Cutting with the hook against the bud leaves the crushed face on the shrub. Seat the stem in the notch, not at the tip, and make one close. If the stem is alive and your tool is an anvil, change tool rather than changing your grip.
How do I sharpen without ruining the flat face?
Stone only the bevel, the angled side. Keep the flat side flat: do not lift a wire edge by grinding that face. The RHS note and Gardeners’ World both describe that split. A few strokes, then a paper test, tell you the edge is back. Oil the pivot afterwards. If you have already rounded the flat, the blades will tear even when they feel sharp, and a new edge on the bevel will not fully repair that geometry.
When do I lock the handles?
Lock them whenever the pair is not in your hand: pocket, trug, shed hook, car boot. Close the blades first, then set the lock. The Alu bullets state a single-hand safety lock. Most PremiumCut bullets in these files do not, even if the UK range page mentions a lock, so check the tool you own. A pair with no lock needs a cover or a careful carry. An open blade in a coat pocket is the injury, not a storage method.
What do I do if the spring lever snaps?
Stop. Do not keep cutting by forcing the handles, and do not assume a spare lever is in the parts list. One UK review on Pro Flex said the lever snapped and was not replaceable. That is one report, not a rate for every model. Warranty cover depends on Gardena’s terms, including private use and registration, and a home strip-down can be the thing that ends it. If the press note’s dismantling line applies to your model, follow Gardena’s own instructions rather than a guessed sequence.
When is a stem too thick for these secateurs?
When it is over the stated figure, or when one squeeze will not finish the cut. Use 22 mm for the Fresh Wood title, 24 mm for Flex, Pro Flex and Pro Dry Wood, and 25 mm only as the Alu title’s millimetre line, not the 25 cm field. A thumb-thick shoot is already near those ceilings. Twist marks on the bark mean you have gone past the tool. Loppers or a saw are the next step, from the ground, not from a ladder with the same secateurs.

Related pages

Gardena secateurs buying guide

Best Gardena secateurs

Gardena secateurs

Gardena bypass or anvil secateurs for live or dead wood

Gardena secateurs for dry wood: confirm the anvil blade

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. Prices, stars, weights, and field conflicts are from the five amazon.co.uk product files. We did not run a lab test.

  1. Gardena UK — secateurs range (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  2. Gardena UK — bypass versus anvil secateurs (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  3. Gardena UK — warranty (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  4. Gardena UK — product registration (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  5. Gardena UK media note — two-step opening (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 11 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  8. GOV.UK — Tree Preservation Orders (retrieved 22.10.2026)