Over the years, we have seen more pruning tools than you can imagine, from long handled snips to wheel mounted trimming shears, and, for the most part, they all belong in that pile in the back of the garage. With the following 2 tools, you can simplify the garage and hassle no more with gasoline or extension cords.

If you have formal trimmed hedges or specimen plants, you’ll need to add the third set of shears.

1. The Felco #60 Folding Saw
This small Swedish saw fits in your pocket folded up. Unfold it, lock it into place, and easily remove up to 4” diameter branches from shade trees, ornamental trees or evergreens. Remove branches all the way back to their trunk or branch of origin. Look carefully at the tissue from which the tree will heal, so leave it intact and undamaged and your tree will heal itself neatly and efficiently. The old method of “flush-cutting” has hurt more than a few trees. Prune with the Felco saw to balance the “architecture” of the tree, to reduce the density of the branching from the trunk, and to “lift” the bottom branches of shade trees the way a forest will self prune the lower branches of forest trees.

2. The Felco #8 Pruner
Many hand pruners will do the job. These are simply the best. Since all parts are replaceable, this is the last set of pruners you will buy. By using hand pruners, you will carefully remove up to 1” diameter branches form trees and shrubs, and can avoid the “sheared” look for a more graceful habit. If reducing the height or spread of a shrub is your objective, often you can reach deep into a shrub to remove the tallest branches. The intermediate sized branches will then mask the pruning cut and appear as the original terminal branches.

3. Sandvik Professional Hedge Shear
Hedges in the landscape are often designed to make an impenetrable wall or barrier of foliage. By using hedge shears, you will be able to create a denser and denser wall with the passing of each pruning. There are three concepts to keep in mind for the best results: First, trim evergreens in the early summer, deciduous hedges as many times as you can during the growing season.
Second, taper the hedge. Because it gets more sunlight, the top of a hedge always wants to overgrow the rest - thereby shading the bottom and eventually killing out the lower foliage. Reverse this process by keeping the bottom of the hedge slightly broader than the top. Third, unless you are Leo Roberts, consider setting up stakes and string lines to make sure your cuts are straight so you don’t “wander” as you move down the hedge.

One more thing, hedge shears are a terrific way to cut back ornamental grasses, iris and daylilies each year.

Pruning: Where to Prune
1. Remove forked top. If left, the fork will cause two leaders, thus wasting growth energy. As the top gets larger, the fork may split and damage the tree.
2. Remove the limb to allow headroom for sidewalks or motorists viewing.
3. Remove branch growing at a sharp angle. When this branch becomes larger, it may rub on the trunk, split out, or even cause rot to develop by giving water a place to collect.
4. Remove crossing branches. These interfere with the growth of other limbs and create bad form.
5. Remove water sprouts.
6. Remove basal sprouting from the root crown. Basal sprouts sap energy from the tree, look messy an can collect trash.

Pruning cuts should be made just outside the branch bark ridge and the branch collar. The branch bark ridge is a ridge of bark in a branch crotch that marks where the branch and trunk tissues meet and often extends down the trunk. The branch collar is trunk tissue that forms around the base of a branch between the main stem and the branch, or a branch and a lateral (branch). I always equate this tissue to looking like wrinkled elephant skin. Make sure all cuts are clean and smooth and avoid flush cuts (cuts that are made inside the branch bark ridge and the branch collar). These cuts result in larger wounds and needlessly expose trunk tissue to the angle formed by the branch bark ridge and trunk.

Tree Pruning Practices to Avoid

Topping and tipping are two practices that should never be used. Topping is the removal of large branches between nodes and tipping refers to pruning lateral branches between nodes. The result of the above practices is the growth of epicormic sprouts which are weakly attached to the stem. Also, improper pruning cuts will cause unnecessary harm to the tree and bark ripping. Flush cuts will harm stem tissue, ending in decay.

The best pruning advice we can give is to match the proper shrub to the proper space. That is, choose a shrub that won’t out grow its location. We have given you information with each plant description as to the mature height and spread of the plant. Having said this be aware of this very important horticultural fact - Plants don’t read books!!

The two types of pruning most often used are shearing (for hedges) and thinning. Shearing is most often used to keep a long row of plants at a uniform height while maintaining density to promote privacy. Thinning is used to keep a plant at the proper size for a given area without letting it lose its natural form. It can also be used to revitalize older shrubs. Many shrubs such as lilacs flower less as they age, by thinning occasionally you promote new, vigorous growth that will bear abundant flowers in the future.

Shearing: Prune the hedge so that it tapers from the bottom to top. This allows ample light to reach lower branches promoting dense growth from top to bottom.

Thinning: Selectively removing branches, never more than 1/3 per year, to help keep plans in “bounds” while maintaining their natural from. This pruning practice performed every few years on plants such as lilacs and viburnums will help keep flower and fruit production vigorous. Plants that are prized for their colorful stems, (i.e. dogwoods), benefit as well since their newest growth is also their most vibrant. NOTE: Always prune at an angle and cut back to a bud or branch.

Important - Timing is Everything: Pruning is done for many reasons including controlling size, improving looks, training growth, encouraging new growth, rejuvinating an older plant and encouraging root growth during transplanting. Regardless of your specific interest, there are certain times of the year that certain plants should be pruned.

Spring is not the time to prune shrubs that flower on last years growth. Doing so will remove the flower buds that will produce this years flowers. If you need to prune these shrubs, do so just after they finish blooming. Other shrubs that bloom on the current seasons growth are best pruned late in the winter/early spring.

Evergreens can be sheared to maintain shape and size. Limbs can be pruned back to side branches or the trunk if necessary, however the central leader should not be cut unless the plant is used as a hedge. The new growth, or candles, on pines can be removed or cut back to keep a plant more compact. This can be done when the needles are 1/3 to 1/2 the mature needle size. The best time to prune evergreen shrubs is in early spring.