Considerations Before Pruning
Pruning is an important tool to maintain a plant’s shape, size, and vigor over time. Improperly pruned plants are often disease-prone and unsightly in the landscape. To avoid these issues, you must know how to prune, and which method is best suited to your plant. While it is difficult to provide a “one-size-fits-all” guide, our staff can clarify information and give specific instructions for your plants.
Tools For Pruning
-
Handheld Bypass Pruner (required)
-
Pruning Saw
-
Bypass Lopper (2-handed)
Most pruning can be accomplished with a sharp Bypass Pruner, like a Felco #2. Avoid anvil pruners, as they smash plant tissues rather than making a clean cut. A Bypass Lopper is useful for larger branches, as is a sharp Pruning Saw. Tools should be kept sharp and well-oiled to prevent rust.
Note: When pruning diseased plants, pruners should be sterilized in a 10% bleach or alcohol solution between cuts to prevent spreading fungal or bacterial infections.
Objective-Based Pruning
Your pruning method should be based on your desired aesthetic. There is no pruning method that is non-damaging to a plant, aside from removal of dead wood.
You must have a clear goal in mind before pruning and commit to that method. Pruning half a plant one year, then cutting the entire plant down the next, does more harm than good.
Hedging and Shearing
Hedging and shearing are easy pruning methods that make quick work of many plants. They are also a frequent cause for ugly, overgrown plants in the landscape.
Hedging and shearing are often used as a substitute for proper pruning and must be combined with a plant’s preferred method to be successful. (Hedging and shearing in detail are not covered here.)
Pruning Basics
Pruning should always start with the removal of dead branches – these do not count against how much plant you can remove before damaging the shrub.
Best Time to Prune
For most deciduous shrubs, the best time to prune is during the dormant season after leaves have fallen (December–March). Bare plant structure is easy to see and makes for easier pruning cuts.
For spring-blooming shrubs (Forsythia, Lilac), pruning should be done just after flowers fade. These plants produce flower buds in summer for the next year, so fall pruning will remove these buds and prevent blooms.
Pruning Methods
There are four broad pruning methods for plants:
-
Thinning Cuts
-
Rejuvenation
-
Heading Cuts
-
Haircut
Each method caters to a specific growth habit and aesthetic, and each plant responds best to one of these methods. While some plants can tolerate multiple pruning styles, this guide provides only the preferred method for plants.
Bypass Action Hand Pruner
The most frequently used tool is the bypass hand pruner. This tool is desirable for removal of limbs and suckers up to ½ inch in diameter.
Making cuts of branches or limbs over ½ inch exceeds the design capacity, making the job more difficult and resulting in excessive damage to the plant.
Lopping Shears
Lopping shears are useful for pruning branches up to 1 inch in diameter.
The design of the lopper and the length of the handle determine the leverage and therefore how easily the job can be done.
Pruning Saw
Limbs over 1 inch in diameter are best pruned with a pruning saw.
It is not recommended to climb trees or prune from a ladder unless absolutely necessary, as pole saws make the job safer and easier while working from the ground.
Hedge Shears
Hedge shears, both powered and manual, are designed for creating large, flat foliage surfaces.
Thinning Cuts
Typically after spring bloom
Improves airflow, light penetration, and keeps the plant’s natural shape.
Best for reducing crowding without changing overall size too much.
Examples: Chokeberry, Clethra, Dogwood, Hazelnut, Forsythia, Macrophylla hydrangea, Winterberry, Snowmound Spiraea, Weigela & Lilac
Heading Cuts
Typically done after thinning to shape
Shorten a branch by cutting just above a bud or side shoot.
Encourages bushier growth and more branching.
Great for shaping, but can make shrubs look dense if overdone.
Examples: Dappled Willow, Smokebush, St. John’s Wart, Paniculata hydrangea
Rejuvination
Major pruning where the oldest, thickest stems are cut back low to the ground.
Used for overgrown or neglected shrubs to restart healthy new growth.
Typically done in late winter or early spring.
Examples: Arborescens hydrangea, Dwarf Arctic Willow, Cutleaf Stephanandra
Haircut
Done across the whole shrub at once.
Creates a neat, formal shape but doesn’t direct growth.
Works for formal hedges, but not ideal for most flowering shrubs
Examples: Dwarf Korean & Miss Kim Lilacs, Summer Spireas, Potentilla/Quince
Pinching → Removing soft new shoots by hand to encourage bushiness.
Deadheading → Removing spent flowers to promote additional blooms.
Suckers → Shoots from roots or base, usually removed.
Water Sprouts → Fast-growing vertical shoots from branches or trunk, often removed.
Cane Renewal → Removing oldest canes on multi-stemmed shrubs to keep them productive.
Pollarding → Cutting branches to the same points annually, mainly for trees.
Espalier → Training a shrub or tree flat against a wall using pruning and ties.
Coppicing → Cutting a plant to the base to produce new shoots. Structural Pruning → Selective pruning to develop a strong framework, especially for young trees.
Heading Back → Cutting back part of a branch to reduce size while
encouraging new growth.
Lateral Branch → A side branch growing from the main stem or trunk.
Clearance Pruning → Removing branches that obstruct walkways, paths, or structures.
Thinning Out → Removing entire branches or shoots to reduce density without changing overall size.
Overgrowth Reduction → Removing a mix of stems and branches to bring an overgrown shrub back in scale.
Crown Raising / Crown Lifting → Removing lower branches of a tree to raise clearance.
Crown Reduction → Reducing height or spread of a tree while maintaining natural shape.
Training / Espalier Techniques → Guiding growth with selective pruning and support for shape, espalier, or trellis use.
Pollination Pruning → Rarely used term: pruning to improve flower exposure for pollinators.
