Pruning Guide: How to Trim Trees and Shrubs

Pruning is a crucial gardening practice that not only enhances the aesthetic appeal of your landscape but also promotes healthy growth and longevity of your plants. Understanding the right techniques and timing for pruning is essential, as improper pruning can lead to unhealthy plants. Whether you're an experienced gardener or a novice enthusiast, our guide will equip you with the basic pruning techniques you need to trim the trees and shrubs in your landscape.

Why do I Need to Prune?

The most obvious reason to prune a tree or shrub is to improve its appearance or to allow access to paths, patios or garden beds. But did you know that pruning is also important to maintain the health of some plants? Here's why you may need to break out the pruning shears:

Prune to Promote Plant Health

There are several ways in which pruning can improve the health of trees and shrubs. Corrective pruning to remove overcrowded branches increases airflow within a plant, reducing excess moisture and making fungal disease less likely. More sunlight is also able to reach the inside of the plant after pruning, improving its ability to photosynthesize.

Pruning can be carried out to remove any dying or diseased branches or parts of the plant that are infested with pests, reducing the likelihood of these problems spreading to the rest of the plant.

Prune to Improve Plant Appearance

It may seem counterintuitive, but pruning can in fact lead to fuller, bushier growth. It can also be a way to increase flowering or fruiting. Winter pruning, before the beginning of new growth in spring, helps with this.

Pruning is also a great way to control the size and shape of a landscape plant. This can be an important landscaping method for larger shrubs and ornamental trees.

Prune to Protect People and Property

Removing damaged, weak or overloaded branches can help to protect large trees from weather damage. This is particularly important if a large or damaged branch overhangs a house, shed or walkway. Small broken branches can sometimes be removed by the homeowner, but it's a good idea to contact an arborist about any large and potentially hazardous branches.

Am I Allowed to Prune my Tree?

In the state of Florida, removing an entire tree requires permission. If the tree is diseased, damaged or poses a danger, a statement from an arborist allows it to be cut down. For a healthy tree, a permit from local government is required.

This rule only applies to entire trees. Permission is not needed to prune or remove branches from a tree on your own property - unless the tree is a mangrove. Mangrove trees are protected in Florida, and if you want to prune them you need to follow the state regulations.

If you want to prune a plant that belongs to a neighbor but is growing over your land, this is generally allowed. However, you have to be careful to prune in a way that doesn't cause damage to the tree. It's also good practice to let your neighbor know before you prune their tree or shrub!

How to Prune Trees and Shrubs

When To Prune?

In general, the best time to prune healthy trees and shrubs is in the dormant season, usually late winter or early spring, before new spring growth begins. This gives plants plenty of recovery time before the stresses of summer heat and the rainy season. However, there are some exceptions to this rule:

• When diseased or dead branches need to be removed, this should be done immediately. Removing these branches should not have an adverse effect on the plant.
• Pre-hurricane pruning, before the beginning of Florida's June-November hurricane season, is recommended if larger branches need to be removed for safety reasons.
• Flowering trees that bloom in spring can be pruned in late spring, right after they finish blooming. This allows them to boost growth and flower production for the following year. However, for trees that flower in summer, late winter or spring is still the best time to prune.
• Palm trees do not have a dormant season, so they can be pruned at any time of year.
• Fruit trees should ideally be pruned in early spring, just before new growth begins. This will boost fruit production.
• Water sprouts - vertical shoots that grow from dormant buds as a response to stress in the plant - should be removed immediately so that the plant does not divert energy into them.

Use the Right Tools for Pruning

The most important thing about the tools you use for pruning your plants is that they should be very sharp and should be kept clean at all times. Remember, when you remove part of a plant, you create a wound that needs to heal.

If you use a dull blade, you will create a ragged cut, so it won't heal up as easily. If the blade is dirty, you could be introducing disease. Sharpen your pruning tools regularly, and use a rag to clean them in between cuts. If you've been removing diseased branches, clean your tools with alcohol before using them again.

There are several types of pruning tool available, each one effective in different circumstances. Here are some of the most popular pruning tools:

• Pruning shears. Also known as clippers or secateurs, these small, hand-held tools are ideal for trimming branches or stems up to 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Different styles are available; some work like scissors, others use a ratchet.
• Loppers. These are essentially a much larger version of pruning shears, and also come in different styles. They are great for cutting branches up to 2 1/2 inches thick.
• Pruning saws can be used on branches up to five inches thick.
• Hedge shears are a great option for trimming back hedges, shrubs or evergreen trees with lots of small branches. They are good for using on branches up to 2 1/2 inches in diameter.
• Pole pruners have long, often extendable, handles, allowing them to reach eight feet or more up into trees. They will generally cut branches or twigs up to 1 1/2 inches in thickness. Electric and even gas-powered options are available, as well as a manual version. Look for your preferred blade type: many pole pruners work like saws, but there are others with a scissor action.

How to Shape Your Plants

In general, landscapers and arborists want to retain the natural shape of the tree or shrub when pruning as this creates a more elegant profile. This is best done by removing all dead, broken or weak branches first. Often, that is enough to thin out dense growth and no further pruning is needed.

If additional training is desired, to alter the shape of the plant, it's important to keep the plant's natural form and growth patterns in mind. Simply slicing away unwanted branches is unlikely to be effective in the long term. Think about new growth that will arise and what the shape of the plant will be in a few weeks or months.

Crown raising, which involves removing lateral branches at the base of the crown to raise the height of the canopy base, is a technique often used to allow greater clearance for vehicles or pedestrians beneath a mature tree. More sunlight can penetrate the canopy, benefiting understory plants. The tree is able to focus energy on upward growth and the upper branches.

In general, light pruning is better for the plant than heavy pruning.

Proper Pruning Cuts

The way in which you make a pruning cut can have a big effect on your plant. The aim is to create clean cuts without tearing the bark, as these will heal more quickly and easily than ragged cuts. It's also a good idea to keep the cut as small as possible, as larger wounds take longer to heal. In the case of entire branches being removed from large trees, it's important to consider the safety of people and property too.

Here are some of the proper pruning techniques you may find useful when pruning shrubs and trees:

Collar Cuts

Collar cuts, removal cuts or thinning cuts are used when trimming secondary branches back to the main branch or trunk. This type of cut will thin out the plant without affecting height, allowing more light to penetrate the canopy and increasing air movement.

The branch collar is an area where trunk tissue overlaps with branch tissue. It creates a barrier against the entry of disease. In some plants there is a visible bump where the branch joins the tree trunk. If you can, identify the branch collar, and cut on the outside of it. In some cases the branch collar is tricky to identify. You may be able to locate a branch bark ridge, where bark from the lateral branch overlaps with bark from the trunk.

Reduction Cuts

Reduction cuts are used to remove part of a thicker branch or trunk down to the level of a smaller branch. The purpose of this type of cut is to significantly decrease the height of the tree or shrub.

Make this type of cut at a slight angle to allow water to flow off; if it is left to pool on top of the wound, it will not heal as quickly. However, to reduce the surface area of the wound, the cut should be made at the smallest angle that will allow for adequate drainage.

Heading Cuts

Heading cuts are made at a node where there is a bud. In general this type of cut puts stress on the plant and should be avoided.

Three-Cut Method

The three-cut method is a good way to remove larger branches without causing bark to tear. It is used on lateral branches and begins with two cuts, made 12-15 inches from the branch collar.

The first is an undercut that goes about halfway through the branch. Then, from the top, a second cut goes through to the first. Usually the branch will break and fall away before the second cut is completed. This allows the main weight of the branch to fall without any worry about damaging the bark.

Finally, a third cut is made, in exactly the right place; for a removal cut, this would be just outside the branch collar. As only a branch stub is left, its weight will not cause bark tearing.

Professional Pruning Services

If you need to prune to promote plant health or train your landscape plants to a certain shape, but you're worried about accidentally damaging your plants, you could always call in a professional. A plant expert will know when and how to prune safely, keeping your plants healthy and your landscape elegant. If you'd like help with maintenance, including pruning, don't hesitate to get in touch with the friendly professionals at LawnMore Gainesville for a quote.

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