I just wipe with paper towel and Clorox or alcohol. Wipe dry then squirt on some Wd-40. That should do it.

I wash with 1 part bleach, 9 parts water, but I like peachie's better.

I don't. I have never observed that people who clorox their pruners have any less BS or mildew than those who don't. A garden is not an operating room, not even a greenhouse, not a controlled environment of any sort. The fungus is in the air, in the soil, on your clothes, on other plants, on the dog... I suppose it may be a bit of a prevention, but it is sort of like using handiwipes on a supermarket cart. If there's an epidemic going on, cleaning the cart handle isn't going to save you (and you are probably better off building up your immune system in the meantime).

catsrose - Here is the problem I see with your logic; I do not sterilize my pruners because of BS or PM, but in case one of my roses has RMV, and I do not notice it. I root a lot of VID roses, and the last thing I want is to infect one of these plants from a body bag rose I got because I could not find it anywhere else. Example - Delta Queen, a sport of Queen Eliz. was a body bag I got about 4 years ago. Low and behold what do I notice this year? Yep, it has RMV, and I have to sp it ASAP. Just my two cents.

Malcolm Manners has done extensive research on Rose Mosaic Virus, including whether it can be spread by insects or pruners. It cannot. It is spread through grafting a clean scion onto an infected rootstock, or vice versa. There is some possibility of root grafting taking place under ground, in rare cases, that may or may not infect a plant. He feels you do not need to remove a rose that makes you happy just because it has RMV.

That said, I do not keep roses infected with RMV because I want top quality in my garden, and I do remove all of the roots that I can possibly find. I seldom disinfect my pruners, and I've never had Rose Mosaic Virus contaminate my clean roses.

Sandy

Canker and Crown/Root Gall I think is what you really need to worry about--other things not so much. Listerine works well.

I use alcohol wipes. Bleach rusts my felcos, so I no longer use that.

I stick them under my arm, clamp down and pull forward with an upward arching motion.

I use off brand disinfecting clorox wipes. Quick and easy...

Listerine is kept in a jar. I just pop the blades into the solution, the small glass jar keeps the pruners' blades soggy and the pruner upright and the springs and handle dry. I pull my anvil pruners out and whack the cuttings into my collection bucket or bag.

Sounds like the clorox wipes would be the ticket for a deadheading crusade.

I keep the pruners sharpened. the tool is easy to carry and it is cheap. I also use WD40 before storing them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Corona Sharpening Tool

I'd want to disinfect if I were dealing with something like canker. You WILL spread that. Been there, done that. Any type of bacterial problem, well, I'd most likely get rid of the plant. I would worry about contaminating my other plants and my soil.

I wonder if Betadine would work? They use it in hospitals.

Sandy

I've been soaking mine in the Lysol Kitchen/Bath cleaner. I pour some in a solo cup and soak the pruners around 3 minutes (what I've heard). I've been battling canker, so definitely being careful, soaking after each cut.

Foghorn, how long to you keep your pruners in the Listerine?

Eric

I do not time the soak duration although I read about the time requirement somewhere.

Sometimes it takes me longer than three minutes, to clean up my mess. I have a huge weed patch so no doubt It will bite me somewhere down the line. So far I have been lucky.

I use a stable glass jar so I can just drop it in and go about my business.

With the pocket sharpener it is so easy to keep you pruners razor sharp all the time. I keep a clean rag handy to keep the pruners & bubble bath clean.

Here is a link that might be useful: Linda Chalker-Scott

I spray with Lysol unless I've got a 10% bleach solution mixed up. Since bleach is a contact disinfectant I don't see soaking metal in it will kill more germs but it's guaranteed to rust your blades.

I prune a lot of bushes for people and in public rose gardens. I don't want what they've got as I'm trying to maintain an organic garden. We have a problem with San Jose Scale and I managed to introduce it into my garden. This stuff is nearly impossible to control and chemicals are of very little help unless you catch it on the move. If people only prune in their own gardens and they don't have infections nor infestations, they shouldn't need to disinfect their blades on a regular basis, IMHO. I sure don't disinfect between cuts unless I'm working on a scaley bush. I don't disinfect between bushes unless one of them has 12-month powdery mildew. Between beds... yep, I disinfect then and even change out my shears.