‘I’ve been looking for these for years - they’re the greatest pruners ever’ – I tried Martha Stewart’s top-rated handheld pruners and the reviews don’t lie

I’ve had the same garden pruners for some years now and I realised a month ago as I tried to neaten a large rosemary plant in my herb garden that, while they still worked, their blades had dulled and they weren’t capable of taking on anything more robust than basil, let alone woodier plants. So, the hunt began for new ones.

The nearest I could find to the original pruners I loved was Martha Stewart’s Handheld Pruner at Amazon .

I was sold by the glowing reviews - and they’ve not disappointed. And even though they’re not on sale for Prime Day , I’d get them anyway. Here’s what you need to know.

Probably the most (over)used of all my essential gardening tools , pruners have to be both tough and comfortable to hold. Especially as, in the 30 years I’ve been gardening and writing about gardens, I’ve really noticed for the first time that my hands aren’t as strong as they were when I bought my first pair of pruners way back when.

My first stop to shop for household essentials is usually the Amazon sale , and for garden tools, I tend to head for the Martha Stewart store at Amazon because I’m a big fan of Martha’s attention to quality – and aesthetics, of course. Her pruners are from a range of excellent tools she creates with Sun Joe (you can find all of Sun Joe’s gardening tools on Amazon too), which she tests extensively at her farm.

As I said, I always look at the reviews on Amazon before I buy, and the top two for these pruners were glowing, including one shopper who described them as ‘the greatest pruners ever’. Other reviewers cited how easy and comfortable they are to use for people with hand problems.

Negative reviews? There were a few that mentioned their size; they are perfectly sized for me (L6in x W3in), and cutting capacity is at ¾in, which means I was able to tackle smaller branches on bushes and trees, and flower arranging, too.

I’d say for anything a little bigger, you may want to look at getting Martha’s Mini Lopper, also at Amazon , or scale up to Tabor Tools’ Bypass Lopper at Amazon , which has a 5-star rating with 9,000-odd reviewers. Either way, they were the perfect size for what I needed.

From a quality point of view, they are ‘designed for a lifetime’. They're made from tough carbon steel, are rust-resistant, and have a comfortable grip and a locking tab. I’ve now been using them intensively for a month, for topiary, cutting back some crazy roses, and in my cutting garden (as in the images above). So, I can back up the reviews with a clear conscience - they cut through smaller branches cleanly (no plant disease from sloppy cutting in my garden please!), they’re comfortable to hold, and I like the simple locking tab mechanism.

Next? I’ve ordered Martha’s Hori Hori Knife from Amazon because I have been comparing gardening kits with my next door neighbor, and he swears by it. I’ll let you know how I get on.