Sharpening & Cleaning Tools.

I often get asked how do I keep my roses healthy. One of the most important tricks is to make sure that your secateurs are clean and sharp. Sounds irrelevant but I think it really makes a big difference. Black spot disease can easily travel from plant to plant when you are deadheading or pruning roses and you should try to prevent that as much as possible. When I prune roses I use a very small amount of household Dettol antibacterial spray to clean the blades as I move from one plant to another. Also keeping your secateurs sharp and clean helps to prevent infection entering the cut. 
So here are a few simple steps to keep your secateurs in a good shape. You would need sharpening stone, cotton cloth, Camelia oil and Crean Mate cleaning block (optional). You can find all of these on www.niwaki.com
1. Soak sharpening stone in water for a few minutes. I use fine #1000 grit stone. 
2. Clean blades prior sharpening. ‘Crean Mate’ is an amazing little block that works like an eraser magically removing all the rust and dirt from the blades. Add a few drops of Camelia oil and gently clean with Crean Mate. See ‘before and after’ pictures below. 
3. When the blades are clean use pre-soaked sharpening stone to lightly sharpen the edges. 
4. Apply a few drops of Camellia oil and wipe with a cotton cloth. Don’t use olive oil or any other cooking oil on your tools. It can really damage them over time. 
You are done!