Professional Quality Pruning For Plants, Shrubs and Trees

Do you have the time and the talent to trim and prune your plants, shrubs, or trees? Do you want to learn how to take care of your landscape trees and bushes correctly, or would you prefer to hire a well-trained professional to do the job? Trimming and pruning plants and trees to remove diseased, damaged, or dead parts to encourage healthy growth and improve airflow is important. Pruning also helps shape and control plants, shrubs, and trees, making them healthier.

Pruning is a task that must be approached with the appropriate methods and tools during the correct season for each plant. The following tips will help property owners learn how to prune trees, shrubs, and perennials in their yards.

1. Basic Pruning Techniques

When you prune, make the proper cuts so it will not damage the plant.

• It would help if you made the pruning cuts on the branch side of the stem collar that grows outward from the stem at the branch's base. This protects the other branches and stems that might be growing and helps the tree to heal better.
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• To avoid tearing the bark when cutting, use the three-cut method. First, make a small wedge-shaped cut under the branch on the branch side of the stem collar. Then, cut off the branch 6 to 12 inches from this wedge, leaving a stub end. Finally, cut parallel to and only on the branch side of the stem collar as close to the tree trunk as possible.
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• Use the correct tools. Loppers are good for trees, climbing vines, and large shrubs. For big cuts, loppers give better leverage and require less effort. Anvil blades have one sharp blade that crushes and tears off a stem, making it work well for blunt cuts of dead branches and dry, hard, older growth. Bypass trimming models that have sharp blades to sweep past the lower sharpened jaw for precise cuts in new growth.
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• Use the suitable size cutter for the size of the plant. So, use pruning shears for small cuts up to 3/4th inch in diameter, lopping shears for branches up to 1 1/2 inches in diameter, and hand and pole saws for branches up to 4 inches in diameter.
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• For flowering plants, pinch off the spent blooms before trimming, which is called deadheading.
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• Keep the plants from getting overgrown and hard to manage. Pruning should start early and be part of every plant's maintenance.
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2. Spring Pruning Tips

It is essential to prune at the correct times for each plant or tree. Look up the growing information for each tree or plant, and follow the basic rules of thumb.

Flowering shrubs, hedges, and perennials bloom in the spring. Please wait until after they bloom to give the plants the care and pruning they need.

• The past year's perennial plants need an early spring trim to encourage new, healthy growth.
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• Spring is the right time to shape out-of-control plants; last fall should have removed harmful growth.
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• Deadhead spent blooms to encourage a new spring start.
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 3. Summer Pruning Basics

Most pruning is done in the spring and fall, but it may also benefit some plants and trees in the summer.

• Hydrangeas also need pruning. Determine if the hydrangea blooms on old wood in early summer. If this is the case, the blooms may fade by early summer. For larger, more plentiful blooms lasting longer into the summer next year, prune the flowers as they fade.
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• Think about pruning edibles like fruit trees in early summer for healthier, larger fruit. Pruning during the dormant season invigorates the fruit tree, and early summer pruning allows better light penetration and airflow. Doing both dormant season and early summer pruning might yield the best results. The goal should be thinning out a dense canopy in older trees. The tree that needs to be properly pruned and trained will have upright branch angles that lead to limb breakage when there is a heavy fruit load.
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• Only clip a little. Some species will be harmed by summer trimming, which may deter growth. New shots might need more time to mature before the cold weather sets in, leaving them vulnerable to damage.
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• Keep a garden journal to keep track of each tree's needs and pruning schedule. Before spring comes, look up information on care needs for each tree, shrub, and plant in the landscape. Make a schedule showing when each plant or tree needs attention, then mark the tasks as completed.
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• Most trees do not require summer pruning unless water sprouts and suckers are removed from near the trunk or base of the tree.
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4. Fall Pruning Advice

Choose the correct fall pruning projects. Corrective pruning is one task for the fall, and this means removing branches that interfere with the whole landscape, including branches that could cause damage during storms or interfere with other plants.

The second reason to do fall pruning is to remove damaged or diseased limbs. Careful removal can also be used to let in more light and reduce the need for pesticides.

• It would be best if you did fall pruning to improve growing conditions for the following year.
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• Only prune once the leaves have fallen from deciduous trees, as fall cuts heal more slowly, leaving the tree vulnerable to diseases.
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• Prune dead or diseased branches first.
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• Start small with hand pruners and do smaller branches. These small precise cuts will heal faster.
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• Stick to pruning the weaker limbs that winter storms might damage. The branches with narrower angles will be weaker.
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• Prune spring-blooming plants such as rhododendrons, azaleas, maple, birch, dogwood, walnut, and elm trees in the fall.
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5. Winter Pruning Tips

The trees and shrubs can be invigorated by winter pruning. A careful trim can help plants produce more flowers and prevent damage from pests and diseases.

Deciduous trees should be pruned in the winter while they are dormant to encourage more growth in the spring. Trees in their dormant state make it easier to see the branch structure. Fruit trees can be pruned mid-winter to open them up to more light, and it might be safer than in-season pruning.

During winter, pruning concentrate on diseased, dead, or damaged branches. Remove these branches before doing any other pruning.

Trees like birch, dogwood, maple, elm, and other "bleeding trees" will lose sap after winter pruning, but the trees are not harmed.

• A good guide is to trim at most 1/3 of the branches that produce new growth.
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• Trim azalea bushes before new growth shows up. They only require minor trimming of overgrown limbs.
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• Blueberries should be trimmed in the coldest part of the winter. Save the new branches and cut the ones older than three years old to the ground.
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• Butterfly bushes should be cut to ground level in the winter so they can regrow in the spring to bloom.
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• Do a minimum of pruning of crape myrtles in the winter months. They don't need pruning for health, only for looks and shape.
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• Hydrangeas bloom on existing old wood, so limit winter pruning. Different varieties have different needs, so read up on them before pruning.
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• Oak trees should not be pruned in the winter because it will leave them susceptible to Phytophthora ramorum, a disease that will cause them to die.
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6. Trimming Hedges Correctly

Hedges need care in pruning.

• Use hedge trimmers to make your hedges wider at the bottom than the top to allow rain and sun to reach the lower growth.
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• Don't trim hedges straight up and down.
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• Hedges are fast-growing and may need trimming more than once a year. But do this trimming at the correct time, or they might not bloom the following year.
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• Use sharp loppers or hand pruners to remove dead, damaged, or diseased wood.
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• Prune branches that grow inward so the shrub can get more sun and air.
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7. Pruning Perennials Right

Perennials can benefit from careful pruning when dormant and in the season to ensure long life.

• Start by pulling out all loose or dead stems.
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• Use sharp knives or pruning shears to cut older dormant stems close to the base of the plant.
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• Keep the area around perennials clean and free of debris.
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• Add several inches of mulch if needed.
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• Prune carefully, but know that mistakes grow back, so don't worry.
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8. More Advice For Pruning Trees

Take care when pruning trees, and think about safety. Only prune what can be reached safely. Consult an arborist for high-up damage or severely damaged or dead trees.

• When trees are young, protect the main trunk or leader from the competition.
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• When two branches rub against each other, please remove one of them.
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• Remove suckers or side shoots from the base of trees.
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• Prune lower branches to expose more of the tree's trunk.
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• Never top or drastically cut back a tree with a chainsaw.
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• When removing a whole limb, avoid cutting too close to the trunk.
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• If you see a young tree starting to split into two trunks, you decide which of the two to cut away. The remaining trunk will grow stronger.
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If these rules and tips make proper pruning of your landscape trees and plants sound too complicated or time-consuming, consider contacting a tree service company like Chilliwack Tree Services in Chilliwack, BC, to do the work for you. We have the training and knowledge to complete the job correctly the first time, and we offer affordable pricing for tree services, including pruning work.