We’re past the solstice and that’s good news to me because short days make me want to hibernate. Don’t get me wrong, there’s something lovely about the sparseness of this season and the rich, earthy color palatte that has nothing to do with showy flowers. We also get a chance to read the outline and form of trees that are otherwise cloaked in leaves the rest of the year. And although there are differing opinions as to the perfect pruning moment, for most trees and shrubs, the months of dormancy – December, January and February – are the best time to prune. Hedges, topiary and some climbers are best done in late spring or summer.

Good pruning techniques will make a garden shine while poor methods can make it look torturously mutilated. Every plant’s pruning needs are different, with some needing extensive annual pruning, some needing just a little and some never needing any at all, unless injury occurs. So while it’s impossible to tell you how to prune every type of shrub or tree in a single article, here are some fundamental pruning principles that will help keep your plants proportionate and healthy. This article will not address how to prune large trees, which are best left in the hands of a reputable, trained and experienced arborist, although suckers at the base of trees are something anyone can remove. Fruit trees are a totally different animal and I will address their pruning in my next blog.

First and foremost, be sure there are no birds residing in the plant you’re going to attack … I mean assist. If there are, wait until they are gone for the year. For year round residents, carefully make only minor cuts.

Second, repeat after me: I will never top a tree. I will never top a tree. Topping a tree (cutting off its main branches) to make it smaller is a crime against nature. Trees or any plant for that matter, do not become “overgrown”; they were simply planted in an inappropriate location. People who top trees are either ignorant, evil or hired by the electric company. Don’t become one of them. A topped tree will die a slow death and the topper will be punished, if I have anything to say about it.

Shearing is also a bad idea, although it’s quite common. There are exceptions, like grand English, Italian and Japanese gardens or knot gardens, and whimsical topiary. But any selective pruner will tell you that most shearing is just bad taste (or the pruner has anger problems). Case in point: I was walking home from the store a few weeks ago and heard the familiar sound of a hedge trimmer. Not just any trimmer, but one of those heavy duty ones that are about two feet long. The operator was a guy who clearly had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed. There he was, attacking a small shrub next to his front door that I’m sure had done nothing offensive. I watched as he went over and over the poor thing until it looked like a rectangular skeleton. Then he took the same huge instrument and went after another victim that was so small that he had to kneel down to get to it. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre came to mind and I walked away, a little nervous.

When you begin shearing shrubs, you are basically committing yourself to a very high-maintenance job. Not only will the poodle shrubs need endless attention, they will only grow where you cut on the outside of the plant, creating – particularly in the case of junipers and other evergreens – a dead zone inside. Allowing a plant to assume it’s natural habit is more aesthetically pleasing, provides wildlife habitat and is much less work.

There are two main types of pruning cuts: thinning and heading.

Thinning adds air and light to a dense plant. It also can benefit adjacent or understory plants by increasing the light, moisture and air available to them. Thinning completely removes a twig back to the main branch it’s growing from, or a branch back to the trunk (or down to the ground, in the case of a multi-stemmed shrub). Dead or injured branches, as well as branches rubbing against another, should always be removed and are also known as thinning cuts. By cutting off many of the inward growing branches just above an outward growing bud, you can influence the remaining branches to grow new twigs toward the outside of the shrub and open up its structure.

Placing shrubs and trees where they can grow the way nature intended is not only more pleasing aesthetically and much less maintenance, it’s better for the plant. But pruning is often necessary because of someone’s bad judgment. If your home's previous owners didn’t understand the “right plant for the right place” concept but you don’t want to completely remove a shrub or tree that is doing its best, before shearing it or hacking it to pieces to make it smaller, consider doing thinning cuts, removing the longest branches. Thinning can also work on previously sheared plants. When we bought our house there were two tall camellia lollipops growing on either side of our north-facing living room window. They had been sheared repeatedly and looked rridiculous, so we took one out to get rid of the symmetry and over the years I’ve done thinning on the remaining one to open it up. It looks almost natural now and blends in with the rest of the garden better.

Heading involves cutting back branches to healthy buds from which new growth develops. It is particularly helpful for filling in “leggy” shrubs since it stimulates dense growth of many smaller buds and twigs lower on the branch. Before you cut, note the position of the buds on the branch near where you want to cut. An inward pointing bud will stimulate growth toward the center of the shrub, making for a denser plant, while an outward growing bud will do the opposite. This allows you to control the shape of the shrub to some extent.

All cuts should be made cleanly – without any jaggedness – so that the wound or cut end heals quickly and the risk of disease or pests is decreased. A correct pruning cut is made at a 45 degree angle, about ¼ inch above a bud in the case of heading cuts. If the cut is too far from the bud, a stub will result. Stubs do not heal properly and will eventually dry and crack, providing an entry for disease and insects. If the cut is too close, the bud may be damaged. Always use sharp, clean tools appropriate to the size of what you’re going to prune.

For more specific instructions, check out Plant Amnesty, a Seattle non-profit whose mission is to promote awareness and respect for plants by encouraging proper pruning techniques. They have general info on how to prune common plants and with a membership you can browse their library online. They also have a bad pruning gallery that is priceless.

Pruning books can also be very helpful. I have an old Sunset Pruning Handbook that I refer to quite a bit but there are lots of other books out there. Page through them to find one that suits your needs or check out the public library if you don’t want to buy another book.

Just to get you started, here are a few common shrubs that will need more than just cutting out dead or crossing branches:

· Butterfly bushes should be cut back almost to the base in spring, just above new growth.

· Rhododendrons don’t respond well to drastic pruning. Remove damaged or dead wood and any crossing, awkward branches that destroy the plant's symmetry. Other cuts on rhodies should be made just above leaf rosettes. If you must cut below any rosettes, find faint rings on the bark where there once were leaves and cut just above the ring.

· Hydrangea pruning varies with the species, but in general, they can be cut back to just above the bases of previous year’s growth. To make a dense hydrangea more open, cut out older, scraggly stems to their base. Cut off spent flowers to save energy for next years blossoms.



Plants in definitely the wrong place