Pruning Tips

Pruning is a regular maintenance activity that is done to improve the shape of plants, control size, manage growth and promote plant health. It also allows access to buildings, driveways and walkways or to open up vistas and repair storm damage. Pruning can be used to create a more formal garden design and is often part of the landscape plan for commercial properties.

Trees and shrubs need to be pruned regularly to maintain their natural shape, control size, encourage flowering or fruit production and prevent limb failure. When it is well-done, pruning can enhance the appearance of a property and increase its value. A little knowledge of how plants grow and what effect pruning has on them can help you make good decisions about when, where and how to prune.

Generally, removing dead, diseased or damaged branches is the first priority when you prune. It’s also important to remove crossing or rubbing branches, branches that are growing inward toward the stem or trunk, water sprouts from limbs, suckers (shoots that rise up from the rootstock of a plant) and to thin out the canopy of the plant so that light can reach all parts of it.

For deciduous shrubs that are allowed to grow naturally, such as holly (Ilex aquifolium), pyracantha (Pyracantha), azaleas and hollyhocks (Hybrid Persica), light trimming and shaping is usually best done in early spring before the plant starts to grow or at the end of the growing season. For many evergreens, including junipers (Juniperus spp.), spruce (Pinus strobus) and pines (Pinus arizonica), a hard pruning is best done in late winter or early spring, and a light pruning is done after the blooms fade.

The pruning cuts you make should be made in a manner that will allow the plant to heal the wound. This is especially important with the use of chemically treated pruning products, such as turpentine, mineral spirits or creosote. Research indicates that the use of these chemicals inhibits healing and can kill the plant.

The pruning cut is the most important element of a successful prune. You should aim to make the cut in a fashion that is clean and neat, resulting in a smooth branch bark ridge and a rapid wound closure. This is particularly important on the larger branches of trees and shrubs. If the cuts are clean, they will be less susceptible to fungus infections and insect infestations and they will also allow the tree or shrub to better defend itself against diseases and insects by producing its own defenses through the formation of woundwood. A clean cut will also reduce the amount of sap that is lost from the branch or trunk. This sap is a source of energy for the growth of new foliage and bark.

source https://treetechvictoria.wordpress.com/2025/03/07/pruning-tips-2/