How to Use pruning shears in a Sentence
pruning shears
noun-
Use a clean, sharp set of pruning shears.
—Helena Madden, Martha Stewart, 3 May 2026
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Use sharp, clean pruning shears or snips to cut stems.
—Viveka Neveln, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 June 2026
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Use clean scissors or pruning shears to cut stems just below a leaf node.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 9 June 2026
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Use clean scissors or pruning shears to cut stems just below a leaf node.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 2 Mar. 2026
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Use clean pruning shears or scissors to cut the stem just above a set of healthy leaves or a new bud.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 30 June 2026
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Use clean pruning shears or scissors to cut the stem just above a set of healthy leaves or a new bud.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 17 June 2026
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Use clean pruning shears or scissors to cut browning or dead leaves at the base of the plant.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 21 Oct. 2025
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Use clean pruning shears or scissors to cut browning or dead leaves at the base of the plant.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 31 Jan. 2026
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Here, time moves not by deadlines, but by pruning shears, budbreak, and fog breaks.
—Lauren Mowery, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
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Choose a healthy stem with three to five segments and use clean pruning shears or scissors to cut it.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 10 Dec. 2025
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Remove a few inches from the branch tips using hand pruners or pruning shears.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Dec. 2025
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In the fall, the workers trade in their pruning shears for knives sharp enough to skin a deer in minutes.
—Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 28 Nov. 2025
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If your petunias and coleus look spindly and leggy, use pruning shears to cut them back by about one-half.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 5 Sep. 2025
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In many regions, winter is prime time to head out into your yard and garden with pruning shears in hand.
—Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Jan. 2026
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Sharpening most pruning shears is easy and only takes a few minutes.
—Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Jan. 2026
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The stalks are tough, so use a sharp garden knife or pruning shears and snip a few inches below each flower.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 31 Aug. 2025
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Use pruning shears, a small handsaw, or a hatchet to cut below the woody root crown and remove it from the soil.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 20 Apr. 2026
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Use pruning shears to cut the stems at ground level and place the cuttings in a plastic bag for disposal.
—Caroline Biggs, Martha Stewart, 23 May 2026
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Bypass pruning shears are versatile and should be sharpened on the outside edge of the blade.
—Paul Cappiello, Louisville Courier Journal, 30 Jan. 2026
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One thing spring gardeners should be a little cautious about, though, is picking up their pruning shears.
—Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 19 Apr. 2026
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When blooms start to fade, use clean pruning shears to cut the stem diagonally back to a leaf or another stem.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 20 Aug. 2025
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Using pruning shears, select a 6- to 8-inch cutting from a healthy, mature lemon tree.
—Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 15 June 2026
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Using a pair of sharp, clean pruning shears or scissors, cut the top part of your succulent off where the leggy growth begins.
—Cori Sears, The Spruce, 9 Feb. 2026
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To harvest, use pruning shears, scissors, or a knife to cut cucumbers from the vine, rather than pulling them off, as tugging can harm the plant.
—Sj McShane, Martha Stewart, 23 May 2026
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With a pair of pruning shears or loppers, remove dead, damaged, or diseased wood,cutting these vines back to healthy growth or the base of the plant.
—Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Mar. 2026
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This set of pruning shears from Amazon is made from titanium steel and coated in an anti-rust oil.
—Christopher Murray May Earn A Commission If You Buy Through Our Referral Links. This Content Was Created By A Team That Works Independently From The Fox Newsroom., FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2025
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Always sanitize your pruning shears with rubbing alcohol to prevent the spread of pathogens.
—Sj McShane, Martha Stewart, 10 Mar. 2026
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Late summer is the perfect time to assess your loppers and pruning shears and sharpen the blades if needed to be ready for late fall and winter pruning.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 15 Aug. 2025
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The steel blades of pruning shears are especially vulnerable.
—Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Feb. 2026
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Either pinch individual leaves from the plant or use clean pruning shears to cut 6-inch stems about 1 or 2 inches from the base of the plant.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 14 Aug. 2025
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pruning shears.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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