What kind of Garden Knife do you have?

Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)

7 years ago

I recently got some landscape broms and when I went to separate and repot them, I learned that their root systems are entirely different than the smaller broms I've had in the past. These guys' roots fill their containers and the roots even adhere to the inside edges of the pots. Separating pups from moms has been a very, very tough job because getting that root ball apart is a lot of work!

I need to get a gardening knife. Even though I've been gardening for years, I've never had or used one before. I think I used a small handsaw one time to separate a tough root ball of a fern, and that's the closest I've come. What kind of garden knife do you have? Do you like it - would you buy it again? What should I buy and where can I get it?

Aechmea 'Black Chantinii'

Neo 'Paula'

Thanks!

Carol in Jacksonville

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Comments (3)

splinter1804
7 years ago
Hi everyone.

Carol – Over the years the implements I use for cutting, dividing, trimming and cleaning bromeliads have evolved to the stage where they could almost be termed a “Bromeliad Tool Kit”. This kit consists of many things from various types of small paint brushes for cleaning awkward areas down in the leaf axils, to heavy duty loppers for dividing some of the large Ae. blanchetianas and other large bromeliads in the garden that are very savage and “bite”.

Heavy Duty Long Handled Loppers

To accurately answer your question, “What kind of Garden Knife do you have?” I don’t just have a single knife. As you’ve found out by now, each plant can be different and subsequently I’ve found it’s best to have a variety of different cutting tools to best approach the various jobs; some are specific tools designed for every day roles while other have been modified and improvised to meet a particular need.

As I said above, with the larger garden plants my weapon of choice is a pair of long handled, heavy duty "loppers" which keep my skin away from the vicious teeth of these large plants. With the other plants that are growing in pots, the tools vary, depending on the size and type of plant.

Starting from the lower end of the scale, I have a couple of modified “steak knives” which I find very useful. These were once bought on a “whim” but weren’t very good for cutting steak as the serrated edge was so coarse it virtually ripped the steak apart more like a saw than a knife, so two of them found a new home on my potting bench.

I used one of these (as is) to cut/saw through some of the smaller plants that a knife just won’t cut. The other I have removed all the serrations with a grinder and made a very strong sharp knife which is also very useful. The good point about both of these tools is that they have a thin pointed blade and are both very good for getting into awkward areas.

The next group of cutting tools I have are two pair of secateurs in the form of by-pass pruners and Florist Snips with the addition of a couple of pairs of normal scissors for neatly trimming dead or damaged leaves.

By-pass pruners

Florist Snips

The next implement I have is
an old re-cycled medium sized kitchen clever which I find excellent for hacking
through tightly matted root balls on plants that are long overdue for re-potting,
this quickly lets me break into the root ball and be able to trim away any dead
or dying roots not easily accessible.

Finally, for the tough areas for
which the previous tools are not suitable, I use a hard tooth “Jab Saw”. This
has a strong, thin, 12cm. blade with hardened saw teeth which are designed to
cut on the backward as well as the forward stroke. I find this one of the
handiest of all the tools in my collection as the thin sharp pointed blade
allows it to access the most awkward of places.

These can be bought at most
garden tool suppliers with a good quality one costing less than $20. There are
cheaper ones, however the blades aren’t as strong and the teeth aren’t hardened
and it’s the old rule of “you get what you pay for”

Jab Saw

Obviously a saw doesn’t leave
a nice clean cut and I always finish off with a final trim using suitable sharp secateurs
which leave a nice clean cut which I then dust with “Flowers of Sulphur”. This helps to protect against rot which can be caused by the entry of specific fungus spores.

I hope this is of some help to you Carol.

All the best, Nev.
Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL) thanked splinter1804
Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
Original Author
7 years ago
Nev, thanks for all of the good info! I appreciate it. After I read your post, I realized I had the perfect serrated steak knife sitting in my pile of things to give away. Moved it to my gardening tools and it worked great! After reading your post, I also realized I have a hole saw which is pretty similar to your jab saw in the last photo above. That would work well, too, if the steak knife doesn't cut it (pun intended).

One of my favorite tools - not a cutting tool, but I think you've mentioned having something like these - are my very, very long forceps. They look like a giant pair of tweezers. I have one that is about 6 inches long but my favorite is my big 12-incher - about 30 cm, for those of you down under! :) I was lucky to get both of them from someone in the medical profession. They are GREAT for cleaning out the junk that gets down between the leaves without hurting the fingers. It's called a rat-tooth tissue forceps. Look at the tip in the photo below. Boy, does that thing work well! The giant one - the one that is about a foot long - will get down inside even the biggest of broms. For any bromeliad lover who doesn't have something like this, I would say it would be worth trying to find something similar on eBay to put in your arsenal. It is one of my favorite tools!

Carol in Jacksonville
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splinter1804
7 years ago
Hi everyone.

Carol - I too find those long forceps invaluable, especially when cleaning plants for showing.

In case you cant find them on eBay, here where I live, we can buy them in shops selling kitchen utensils under the name of "kitchen tweezers" at about $10 Aus. per pair.

No doubt there are similar shops in your area where hopefully you may also find them.

All the best, Nev.

What kind of Garden Knife do you have?

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splinter1804

Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
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What kind of Garden Knife do you have?

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splinter1804

Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)Original Author

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Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
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