This undated photo shows a tall hedge being pruned in New Paltz, NY. Pole pruners and hedges make it easier and safer to prune stems high up in a plant. (Lee Reich via AP) Two millennia ago, the Roman ...

Two millennia ago, the Roman writer Columella described the vintoria falx, a six-part, specialized pruning tool for grapes. What a stir that tool must have caused among Roman grape growers when it was ...