Winter is a good time to take a look around your fairly bare landscape and check the condition of your trees and shrubs.  Without the green foliage to mask any issues, you'll be able to see if there are any potential problems you could be facing as the trees come out of the dormant stage in the spring.

Typically, the best time to prune is winter to early spring. A good way to judge if a tree or bush should be pruned is by referring to its blooming stage. If a plant blooms before May 1, like the azalea, prune it just after it blooms. If a plant blooms after May 1, like the crepe myrtle, prune it during its dormant stage.  

We all know over-pruning not only destroys the beauty of the tree or bush, but can have serious consequences on the overall health and life expectancy, too. So, take your time, make proper cuts and use the right tools to do the job.   

Here's some basic pruning tips:

1. Prune to keep your plant strong by removing water spouts, suckers and crossed branches located on the interior. A tree's ideal branch angle is the 10 and 2 o'clock position or about 45 degrees in relation to the trunk.

2. Prune to give your plant form or shape by removing some of the interior branches to allow air to circulate and sunlight to enter. Also, remove branches growing in towards the center or downward. Your plant will not only look better, but gain more nutrients from the extra air and sunlight to grow lush foliage.

3. Prune to keep your plant healthy. Look for diseased, decayed, deformed, dying or dead branches and remove them before the entire plant is affected.

4. The two types of pruning cuts are the thinning cut and the heading cut. The thinning cut is used to remove branches with weak angles in respect to the trunk or branches that cross over another branch. The heading cut is reserved for more ornamental shrubs where only a portion of the branch is removed.

5. When pruning cane-like shrubs such as the spirea, nandina or sweetshrub, remove the oldest canes at ground level and leave the younger canes. Vines like grape and muscadine should be pruned each year to maintain productivity. More drastic pruning of long-neglected vines can help revitalize them and encourage new growth.

6.Never prune the branch collar which contains trunk or parent branch tissues. All cuts should be made just beyond the collar. 

 

7. Never remove more than one quarter of a tree's leaf-bearing crown. The tree can recover much better from several smaller cuts than fewer larger cuts. Main side branches should be at least one third smaller than the diameter of the trunk. For most deciduous or broadleaf trees, do not prune up from the bottom any more than one third of the tree's total height.  

8. Do not prune more than 20% of live foliage in young trees and 10% of live foliage in mature trees.     

9. Small trees should be pruned using bypass blade hand pruning shears for clean, accurate cuts. For larger cuts, use the lopping shears or pruning saw. Never use hedge shears to prune a tree. Always make sure your tools are sharp and clean to avoid damaging plants or spreading disease. Clean regularly, especially when pruning diseased or decayed plants.

10. Although wound dressings on trees were once thought to be helpful in accelerating wound closures and protect against insects, diseases and decay, most experts no longer recommend it as it may cause more harm than good.

Just as you put time and care into planting and growing for a beautiful landscape or bountiful garden harvest, proper pruning of your plants will keep them around for years to come saving you time and money.