Dig This - purchasing watering cans, pruners, and other gardening tools - Buyers Guide

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, March, 2000 by Elizabeth Razzi, James Ramage

Premium GARDEN TOOLS worth the extra price.

TOMATO SEEDLINGS and petunias grow and wither each season. But when it comes to new garden tools, you're making an investment that ought to last. Homeowners plow a lot of money into their gardens--an average of $450 on plants, tools, fertilizer and such each year. That's up almost 50% since 1993, according to the National Gardening Association, in Burlington, Vt., and a lot of cabbage by anyone's measure.

Usually sold through specialty garden retailers and their catalogs, premium tools are more durable and precise--and more expensive--versions of those found at the local hardware store. Many of the high-end tools don't simply work better, but come with the handcrafted details and flair that characterized European and Asian implements a century or two ago.

Yes, some of the attraction to heirloom-like tools is little more than affectation. Bruce Butterfield, research director for the National Gardening Association, dismisses it as "the Wellington-boot phenomenon"--that is, gardeners who imitate the British gentry. But he and other experts agree that, at least in some cases, age-old designs and materials still are the best for serious gardeners. And sometimes, as with a pair of one-piece metal sheep shears, the classic design is so attractive that it deserves a spot on your mantel, not in your toolbox.

Water well

FORM AND FUNCTION count when you're looking for a good watering can. One that is presentable enough to leave out on your patio or porch makes you more likely to keep your flowerpots and beds moist. And premium watering cans have practical advantages over discount-store plastic jugs: They typically have two handles, which help you to balance and pour two or three gallons of water. Their sprinkling heads, or "roses," offer a gentle shower, and their long necks give you access to tight spaces.

The most decorative is a stainless-steel watering can with a brass spout sold by Le Prince Jardinier, a French gardening boutique (see page 130 for phone numbers and Web sites of retailers). It's based on a 19th, century design and comes in sizes up to two gallons.

The 1.25-gallon can is $98 from Virginia-based Netique.com, a Web site that specializes in gifts.

Janet Walker, director of horticulture for the American Horticulture Society, likes a rust-resistant steel watering can with a narrow nozzle for getting into a pot-bound plant without spilling, she says. We found an English galvanized-steel can with a brass head and an extra-long spout at Gardener's Supply Co. for $59.95. Smith & Hawken sells a two-gallon traditional Haws can for $49.

Metal cans are too heavy and easy to damage, insists Butterfield. His pick is a polyethylene watering can with a brass head. This three-gallon can is available from Gardener's Supply for $24.95.

Clean cuts

PASS UP THE antique-looking, hand-forged, wooden-handled pruners. The best designs in hand pruners--and their long-handled cousins, loppers--use modern, lightweight metals and precision-crafted blades to cleanly cut stems and small branches. A bypass pruner, which acts more like a pair of scissors, is preferable to an anvil pruner, which pinches stalks between a blade and a flat surface and can crush a delicate stem.

The experts were unanimous: The best bypass pruners are made by Felco, a Swiss manufacturer, and all the specialty retailers we checked sell them. While the Felco No. 2 is the biggest seller, you should try to get your hands on a few of the other models to see which one fits you best. Jack Allen, director of retail training for Smith & Hawken, recommends trying the No. 2 first. The Felco No. 8 has a more ergonomic design, with deeper thumb notches to make your hand more comfortable, while the No. 6 may suit a small hand better. The No. 9 is especially for lefties, and the No. 13 can cut bigger branches. The No. 7, which has one rotating handle, reduces arm strain if you're doing a lot of cutting, but could be a nuisance if you're putting it down and picking it up a lot, says Allen.

Smith & Hawken and A.M. Leonard both carry a good selection of Felcos, which range from $22 to nearly $60.

Loppers. A good pair of loppers will allow you to reach up to trim low-hanging tree branches or go deep into a thorny bush to cut dead wood. But those long handles that provide the leverage to cut thicker branches also add weight--and can make loppers hard to handle.

To limit wrestling, take a look at two new tools by Fiskars. The Longneck Swivel Lopper (model 9131) allows you to twist the tool's cutting head--rather than your body--to get at odd-angled branches. Though 34 inches long, it weighs only 3 3/4 pounds. The suggested retail price is $49.99.

For a longer reach, try Fiskars Pruning Stik (model 9234). This 62-inch tool also has a pruning head that can be rotated, and it weighs less than two pounds. You trigger the cut by pulling on a handle halfway up the stick. "It's a neat tool," says Butterfield. The A.M. Leonard catalog sells it for $64.95.

Shear fantasies