How to Use String on a Pole Pruner

Pruning is essential to maintaining the health and quality of your trees and plants. A pole pruner is a long tool with a string used to prune branches and limbs in trees without using a ladder. Whenever you are pruning a tree, you must be careful and not prune where limbs could fall on power lines or other wires. Remove dead, diseased and broken branches as needed. You should do routine pruning in the late fall or early spring.

Things You'll Need

• Hard hat
• Safety goggles

Instructions

1. Look at the branch you want to cut and try to estimate where it will fall. The end of the branch towards the tree will most likely be thicker and heavier, so prepare to move away from that end. If there are a lot of leaves or other branches, the limb will probably not fall straight down.

2. Create an escape path for yourself before cutting the branch and make sure no one else is in harm's way. Wear a hard hat and safety goggles for extra protection.

3. Place the blades of the pruner around the branch you want to cut.

4. Position the pruner at the highest point you can reach and hold the string tightly in your hand. You can wrap your hand around it if this helps, but you will have trouble letting go of it if you need to get out of the way quickly.

5. Pull down sharply on the string as soon as you are ready to cut the branch. You must pull quickly and as hard as you can. The string will make the blades of pruner close quickly, cutting off the branch.

References

• University of Nebraska Lincoln Extension: Pruning Tools - The Basics
• University of Minnesota Extension: Pruning Trees and Shrubs
• Texas A&M University: Aggie Horticulture: Follow Proper Pruning Techniques