Scott:

I'm surprised you have that much winter pruning. I do 95% of mine in the spring and early summer. It seems like almost nothing but I suppose the hours add up, maybe 8-10 per year. But I'm thinking you have a lot more trees and they must be more vigorous.

Loppers can be a real strain also after you get to a certain size limb, about 3/4 to 1 inch for mine. To me they are more of a strain on the shoulders and arms, less on the hands.

I would think the air powered ones would be pretty expensive but very fast.

Do most of your trees keep growing much of the summer? Mine really slow down from mid summer on. But I've found if they quit growing completely then it's probably too dry. Dry enough to affect return bloom on some stone fruit, mostly apricot and pluot.

Someone mentioned using a small, battery powered saw quite a while back- it would be tempting if you had very many cuts to make. I would like to know more about that.

M

Get a nice Bahco orchard lopper. You don't need a power tool at all unless you have arthritus, maybe. I wouldn't even consider pruning stone fruit without my Bahco. I don't use it quite as much with apples.

I assume you have a triblade type saw like a Gomtaro 300 by Silky. I also assume that when you use your hand sheer you push the wood away with your free hand. Also make sure you are not tensing your muscles unnecessarily- keep loose, clench nothing.

As I told you before, my favorite hand pruners are the V series by ARS. They come in 3 sizes so you can get the right fit for your hand and their steel is much harder than Felco's so they hold their edge much better (but are somewhat harder to sharpen- use a Jap ceramic stone such as one amleonard sells)

All of these are available from either Gemplers or Amleonard. Check both for best price.

I'm 58 and probably prune at least 100 times as much wood as you need to and the only problem I have right now is plantar fascitus. Any advice out there on that issue?

Thanks guys. The main winter pruning tasks are stubbing the peaches and plum 1-year shoots with the pruners (in my close planting I take all shoots down to a foot or less), and thinning the growing trees to have fewer scaffolds and major branches. I do much of the thinning over the year but I always get behind so need a major winter pruning when I have time to focus on nothing but the pruning part.

harvestman, I have learned the importance of staying loose though it took me too many years to figure that out. I even can switch hands and saw pretty well south-paw. I don't do much lopping and its probably due to the cheap loppers I have so I will check out the Bahco ones. I may also look into those ARS pruners, the Felco ones seem to bend apart too much when cutting, as if the metal is too soft. I probably hurt them by cutting too many too-big branches since I had no loppers. That also messed up my hands and I now saw anything 1/2" or bigger.

Scott

I used the ARS pruners for the first time this year and liked them. I agree the blades are very hard and stay sharp (at least haven't had to sharpen them yet).

For loppers I use a cheap pair of Friskars that have the geared reduction. They were something like 25 bucks at one of the big box stores when I bought them a few years ago. The geared reduction makes lopping very easy. They also stay sharp.

For limbs I've really gotten behind on, I use my chain saw. Very fast.

H-man: been there, survived a bad case of PF when I was in my early 30s. went to a foot doctor who grabbed a pair of full length Birkenstock cork insoles (not the flimsy blue ones). He cut a triangular patch of appx. 3/16", very dense gauze like material and taped to the middle of the insole near the front of it. I wish I could describe the location better, want a picture of the setup, e-mail me? Oh, in addition, he taped a very pronounced rubber "wedge" to the under side of the insole where the arch is. Lastly, I was required to stay off my feet, PERIOD, for 10 days, after that I was not allowed to ever stand on my feet unless the insoles were under them. It worked and took my feet years to get to the point where I could cheat and walk extremely short distances without them and not suffer the consequences. BTW, the doc said he could have ordered orthotics for me but they would have been expensive and wouldn't work any better than what he fashioned out of the Birkenstock insoles, rubber wedges and gauze stuff.

My feet have very high arches. The problem was caused by my working on my knees and having my feet under me with the toes bent back (pointing forward) a lot at work.

Good luck, the more you are on them the longer it may take your feet to heal. Oh yes, no more steel shank rigid soles for me!

The one thing that helped me a lot was getting my pruners sharpened. I've got Felco ones and I couldn't tell how dull they were until I had them professionally sharpened and it made a huge difference. Most knife places will sharpen anything for you if you ask. And get a good pair of loppers and use those on anything too big. There's no reason to strain with my Felco pruners when my big loppers can get it. I've got telescoping ones and the extra distance can make a cut easier to make when you don't have to be right next to it. The other thing to remember is that you shouldn't do it all at once.

Stick with the Bahco IMO- it works better than others because the hook anvil is shaped perfectly to force the wood inward where the leverage is. It also is much lighter than a cheap pair which makes a lot of difference over the course of a day.

I have tried many different loppers over the years (including the Fiskars when I was doing some work for my sister in CA) and there's a reason so many commercial guys like the Bahco.

20 years ago I felt I had lots of money and would try any product I thought might give me an edge. There's not consumer reports for this stuff. I've bought the Felco loppers which turned out poorly designed at almost $100 a pop. I've tried specially designed ones that use a complicated gear system that cuts just part of the wood with each squeeze and I've tried different ones advertized in the trades for commercial fruit growers.

When I'm filling my truck with apple brush I have my helper reduce the volume with a lopper before strapping bundles with compression straps (I despise chippers). In spite of cutting through lots of wood that is almost too thick using full arm strength in 20 years I've never had a single handle break.

Of course different people will always have different opinions about tools and Olpea might prefer his Fiskars even if he'd tried all the loppers I have. They do often design tools well and I use a Fiskar wood splitter (maul) to split up about 8 cords of wood each year- it's the best.

Following up on this I decided to get the ARS pruners and Bahco loppers. I am completely impressed with their quality, I didn't think any pruners could be more durable feeling than the Felcos but the ARS are a cut above. The Felcos were so much better than the $9.99 specials I had before that I just couldn't imagine anything topping them. The loppers are also light-years better than the $19.99 ones I have (and never used because they didn't work very well).

What diameter of say apple wood do you view as the sweet spot for loppers?

Scott

Harvestman wrote:

the only problem I have right now is plantar fascitus. Any advice out there on that issue?

I don't know if this will help or not, but I'll tell my story. A few years ago I got a pain in my heal of my right foot. I kept waiting for it to go away and it never did so I finally went to a podaitrist. He thought it was plantar f. and gave me a shot that was supposed to take care if it. Well, the shot did nothing for me. The next step was orthodics. They helped a little, but I still had pain.

I was in a Target store one day and saw these little gel inserts for the heal area of shoes. They were called "arch supports" or something like that (not heal pads). I tried them and the pain was GONE! I have one set for each pair of shoes that I own and now I'm pain free. And they're only something like 5 bucks a piece. A MUCH better price than the orthotics!!

I'm not sure if I ever had plantar f. or something else, but these little things worked for me. Give them a try, if they don't work, it's a small investment.

Harvestman, heed Michael's counsel and get yourself a pair of Birkie's. One year ago I was nearly crippled from PF and, in a desparation move, sent off for a pair. The shoes cured my problem. I wear them in the orchard and in the garden--they're my comfort shoes. You're only about $100 away from a solution, available on line. Misterbaby.

I finally noticed this planter fascitus subtopic and Googling it realize I also have that in one of my heels.. never knew it had a name. I don't have it all that bad but will be keeping a closer eye on it now. It tends to get bad in the spring when I am doing a lot of orchard work. I also have high arches. This last year I used those Vibram toe-shoes (the goofy shoes with a different compartment for each toe) for orchard work and don't recall problems with my heel. You work your foot muscles a lot more in those shoes so every time you walk you are doing stretches.

Scott

Could u use a battery powered sawzall?

My husband also credits the Vibram Five Fingers with curing his plantar fasciitis. It improved tremendously with the regimen recommended by his doctor and physical therapist, but he had a little bit of nagging pain for over a year that finally resolved after he got the Five Fingers. There isn't enough data for anyone to recommend Five Fingers as a treatment, but it's interesting!

I'm on my feet on a hard surface all day every day at work and wear nothing but Birkies there. At the end of the day I switch to a pair of regular Birkenstocks. They wear forever, can be rebuilt several times, and have been comfortable for me for years.

But they are not for climbing, running, or even long walks. I'll go up a ladder in them, but put on tennies for scrambling around in a tree or for walks, and boots for hunting/back-packing.

I've been tempted by the Five Fingers idea- might try it someday.

:-)M

Thanks for all the ideas for my PF. I'll try the 5 fingers although the Scholls product designed specifically for heal spurs hasn't been magic for me. I have an appointment with a podiatrist in 3 weeks. I've been installing over 40 bearing age fruit trees in someones orchard this week and the uneven ground has been taxing.

Scott, I'm glad you had the same reaction to those tools as I. What are you using for a pruning saw?

Try to get so on top of the pruning that the only cuts you need to make are twigs. Think small work with huge payoff ... years later.

unasmith that won't really help much as you allow enough branches to harvest the light and the equation changes as trees age. All orchards on self-standing trees create a ton of wood that is removed annually.

To maintain a central leader CT shape tree, upper tier branches must be cycled and removed when the diameter exceeds that of lower branches or sooner. Similar math is involved in maintaining secondary and tertiary wood on open center trees.

Summer pruning does assure that the annual wood will be softer and easier on the hands to remove.

Harvestman, I have a Bahco pruning saw that I like very much. However I think its dulled over the years (aided by too many cuts close to the ground). Is there a method to sharpen them? I once used a stone on the sides of the saw which helped.

Re: the 5 fingers, I have been wanting to use them in the winter but while they do sell a smartwool version they are all-open on the top of your feet - whats the logic there?? Maybe there is some kind of leg warmer that could be used with them.

Scott

Hope power pruner works out Scott.

I have to watch my salt intake or joints go to hell.

http://www.amleo.com/?crcat=branding~a-m-leonard&crsource=adwords&crkw=a.m%20leonard&crcampaign=6616543552

...is a good source.

I got 2 long pole pruners gas powered. I use them for clearing trails on land I confiscate to run my dirt bikes on. Every year I spend a few hours a day for a couple weeks bushwacking and clearing a few miles of it out. Nature can be a pain in the ass. But even if I was rich and it was own land, I'd still have to clear it or pay someone to do it. And I'd have taxes and insurance.

What is this, a senior citizen board? I'm 31 and i feel old! :)

Scott-
Subcontract the work. There has got to be local slave labor you can tap into :) I told my neighbor (hope i don't step on any toes) that i wish i could find some illegals to redo my landscaping. The local kids would want to get paid union wages and benefits and probably still wouldn't do it.

keepitlow, not sure what you mean by a powered pole pruner. I have a powered hedge trimmer type thing I use for summer pruning, but it only does shoots.

Frank, it took me five years to figure out how to prune my closely-spaced trees (and even longer for Euro plums and pears) so I don't think I could teach someone to do it right. I do pay someone to do all the routine yard work, so I can focus on the fruit trees.

Frank, congratulations you have a whole lifetime of aches and pains ahead of you, the fun has barely begun.

Scott

Felco makes an electric hand-held pruner that seems a perfect solution for you. Except for the $2,000 price tag. http://www.amleo.com/felco-battery-powered-electric-pruner-model-800/p/F800/

I've got a bitty electric chain saw on a long pole and it works really well.

However, I don't think it is suitable for pruning fruit trees because it tears the end of the branch up pretty good when it cuts.

I'll use a bough saw for limbs too big for the loppers, but sometimes it is too big to get it in where I need it.

Unfortunately, about hiring pruning done, pruning is an art and not many people do it that well. Low paid labor usually has a problem with following instructions. I suppose you could hire someone and stand there and point. Although, I've certainly had workers still do it wrong as I was standing right over them telling them what to do.

So, I guess I will continue to do my own pruning.

Scott, a few years back I got in a long conversation (the only kind I'm capable of) with a Bahco PR guy. I gave him some input that he was going to forward to R+D (yeah, maybe, but you know PR guys)and he sent me a free package of saws and hand pruners and, even new, the saws don't come close to the Japanese jobs by either ARS or Silky. Felco seems to get their seconds sometimes and you can wind up with blades that bind on largish wood with them.

I used to use the Felcos until they ran into this quality problem and then switched to ARS but then discovered that Silky makes the best handles. Try the Silky Gomtaro 300 coarse tooth and I guarantee you'll put less stress on your joints. Just be sure to wear leather gloves as a careless moment can cut to the bone. The gloves will at least reduce damage.

Gee, the Bahco seems pretty good to me, but my previous saw was a $10 HD bow saw. Tool quality is definitely relative. Since my saw blade is fading I probably have a good excuse to upgrade it soon.

I can relate to your comment about a careless cut. With my Bahco I had one minor slip which gave me a big gusher of blood since I hit an artery. I also was once doing too-fast pruning of tangled grapevines cut the fingertip completely off one of my glove fingers .. good the finger itself was a touch further in!

Scott

The Bahcos I tried were pretty good. He even sent me one with a tri-cut blade which is the Japanese design. There are lots of knock offs of this design now but as far as I know the best blades are still made in Japan. I use them a couple of weeks and throw them away even though there's a special file designed specifically for these blades. I'd rather be pruning than sharpening and for me it's more profitable.

Scott, the warmest 5 finger models are probably the KSO Trek and the Treksport. You can wear them with sport toe socks (like Injinji), and that's warm enough for running in the snow, but I think if you're not running your feet would get cold pretty quickly.
You may have to size down from the classic model if you try them - make sure to check out the size conversion chart on their website.

When is the best time to start the pruning process?

Here is a link that might be useful: Sniper Paintball Gun