How to Prune Small Trees and Shrubs

By: Lynn Ocone, This Old House magazine (Page 3 of 10)

Photo: Reena Bammi

There's a right time—and a right way— to prune. Click the arrow below to see diagrams of pruning cuts

Illustration: Susan Carlson

Heading cuts remove only part of a shoot or limb and encourage side branching and dense growth. The cut should be made just beyond a healthy bud, angled at 45 degrees and facing away from the bud. Note that new shoots will grow in the direction the bud is pointing.

Illustration: Susan Carlson

Thinning cuts remove an entire branch where it meets another limb, the main stem, or the ground. They should be made as close to this junction as possible. These cuts help maintain the plant's natural shape, limit its size, and open up the interior branches to light and air.

Enlarge this image Illustration: Susan Carlson

Remove one-third of the plant's stems, cutting at the base. This opens up its interior to air and sunlight and encourages new branch and leaf growth.

Enlarge this image Illustration: Susan Carlson

Cut away additional old stems while leaving newly formed stems intact. The shrub is now made up of mostly new growth that is ready to flower.

Illustration: Susan Carlson

What to prune: A. Suckers that grow from the roots or base of the trunk; B. Limbs that sag or grow close to the ground; C. Branches that form an acute angle with the trunk; D. Watersprouts that shoot up from main "scaffold" branches; E. Limbs that are dead, diseased, or broken; F. Branches that grow parallel to and too close to another; G. Branches that cross or rub against others; H. Limbs that compete with the tree's central leader

Illustration: Susan Carlson

Three-cut branch removal: 1. On the bottom of the limb between 6 and 12 inches from the trunk; cut about one-quarter of the way through; 2. Through the limb from the top, starting about 1 inch beyond the first cut. (The weight of the branch may cause it to snap off before the cut is complete.); 3. Completely through the short remaining stub from top to bottom just beyond the swollen branch collar.

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Older and Neglected Shrubs. Older shrubs that have become a tangle of unproductive stems may require a more extensive program of thinning cuts, called renewal or renovation pruning, that takes at least three years. On shrubs with multiple stems that grow up from the base, like lilac, viburnum, forsythia, and dogwood, gradually remove all of the old stems while leaving the new, flower-producing growth untouched. Eventually, the new flower-producing stems will completely replace the lackluster old growth.

Neglected shrubs may call for a more drastic approach: hard pruning. Most deciduous shrubs that respond well to renewal pruning can also take hard pruning, as will a handful of broadleaf evergreens, such as privet. Using loppers and a pruning saw, cut back all stems to within an inch of the ground during the plant's winter dormancy. (For more on the correct tools to use, see Choosing and Using Pruners and Loppers) Come spring, the plants will quickly produce new shoots from the base. Of course, this technique will leave you with little to look at while waiting for the new growth.