Introduction
The Basics
Pruning Terms
How to Cut
Practical Pruning Tips
Special Care for Different Plants
Pruning Time Table
Condensed Pruning Guide

Excerpt from page 1
Do you have an old grapevine that needs training? A forsythia that has become too leggy? Have you just purchased a new home and felt mystified by the pruning chores ahead?
The subject of pruning can fill a whole book and sometimes even the experts disagree over the best practices. But the principles of pruning are simple. This bulletin tells you how to keep your trees shrubs and vines attractive and healthy through careful pruning.
What is pruning? It is cutting away unwanted parts of a plant for better shape or more fruitful growth.
What is involved in pruning? To do the job well you need to know when (in what season) to prune what to cut away and how to do the cutting. For most jobs all you will need are a few simple hand tools although power tools are sometimes handy.
Is pruning really necessary? Nature does its own pruning. The woods are full of dead limbs and branches pruned by nature's ruthless wind snow and ice storms. Weak branches die and drop off neglected trees; rubbing branches kill one another. Thick undergrowth frequently kills trees by dense shade. But nature's pruning is a slow haphazard process; you can get better results with pruning shears.
Copyright permission by Storey Communications.