If you are cutting larger stems, secateurs will struggle to do the job. Loppers are easier and safer. They work will for branches up to around 5cm wide (roughly the length of a thumb). Essentially, when you prune you want to remove dead, dying and diseased growth. Then, it’s just about pruning it into the shape you want. For advice on shaping bushier plants, read our guide to hedge trimming and topiary. It’s easier to prune with a sharp blade than a dull one, and a cleaner cut heals faster and more efficiently than one made with a dull blade. Lee Reich shows you how to sharpen a hand pruner. Watch the video… J.M. Dunn, C.J. Atkinson, N.A. Hipps, 2002, Effects of two different canopy manipulations on leaf water use and photosynthesis as determined by gas exchange and stable isotope discrimination, East Malling, University of Cambridge. I want to know what it needs to eat and drink, where it likes to rest, in the shade or in partial sun or full, and how it needs to be groomed (pruned).

I think often, too much emphasis is placed on watering and feeding and not enough on grooming and removing diseased and dead branches, stems, and flowers. Arborist Melissa Levangie explains how to clean your pruners, then sharpen them using diamond files. Read more…It's often desirable for ornamental trees planted in a formal setting to have a central-leader (one leading upright branch in the centre of the tree), so formative pruning will consist of removing competing upright branches. However, in some situations gardeners might choose to remove the central-leader, as this can slow upward growth and limit the eventual height of a tree. Am I allowed to prune my tree? There is no one correct pruning tool. People have their own preference. Depending on the size of the branches you need to cut, you may need a bigger or smaller pruning tool. See the guide to tools above for detailed advice. Much has been written about the advantages and disadvantages of using a wound dressing on large cuts. Traditionally, wound dressing or pruning paint is used only on cuts larger than an inch in diameter. However, scientists have found that wound dressings are strictly cosmetic and have little to do with preventing insect or disease damage to the wound area. Pruning paint may, in fact, slow down the healing process. In general, wound dressings are not recommended or necessary, with one exception. On oak trees in areas of Texas where the oak wilt disease is prevalent, wound dressing should be used to help prevent the bark beetle from spreading the disease through the pruned surface on a tree. Making Pruning Cuts Correctly Some plants, like willow and buddleia, don’t mind if you prune them almost to the ground. But most trees and shrubs need a gentler approach. With many plants you only want to reduce the size by a maximum of one third at a time.

Flush cuts that remove the branch collar or damage the branch bark ridge limit the growth of woundwood, leaving tees with poorly sealed wounds that invite decay organisms into the trunk. Leaving branch stubs is also undesirable, because stubs act as physical obstacles to wound closure. Heading cuts are often unable to develop woundwood and are subject to decay. The main purpose of pruning for these plants is aimed to providing space and to cut out older wood to allow the development of new vigorous shoots from the base of the plant. Proper pruning enhances the beauty of almost any landscape tree and shrub, while improper pruning can ruin or greatly reduce its landscape potential. In most cases, it is better not to prune than to do it incorrectly. In nature, plants go years with little or no pruning, but man can ruin what nature has created. By using improper pruning methods healthy plants are often weakened or deformed. In nature, every plant eventually is pruned in some manner. It may be a simple matter of low branches being shaded by higher ones resulting in the formation of a collar around the base of the branch restricting the flow of moisture and nutrients. Eventually the leaves wither and die and the branch then drops off in a high wind or storm. Often, tender new branches of small plants are broken off by wild animals in their quest for food. In the long run, a plant growing naturally assumes the shape that allows it to make the best use of light in a given location and climate. All one needs to do to appreciate a plant’s ability to adapt itself to a location is to walk into a wilderness and see the beauty of natural growing plants.Annual cutting removes old wood to allow young shoots to flourish and become stronger as well as encouraging good airflow to prevent fungal disease from taking hold. Flowers, like roses, have larger blooms on young shoots than on old shoots. Some mid- to late summer flowering clematis may be pruned by combining method 2 and 3, to retain a basic framework while cutting other stems to the base. This extends the flowering season.