Pruning Trees, Shrubs and Vines

Pruning Lilacs to Keep them Blooming
Lilac plants need pruning to keep them blooming well and growing healthy. Tips for keeping your lilac plants in good health for decades to come.

Selecting Tools for Pruning Plants, Trees & Shrubs
Pruning plants intimidates gardeners. It shouldn't. Pruning is one of the best things you can do for the plants in your garden and landscape. Becoming proficient at pruning plants just takes experience and the right tools. The basic 4 tools described here will take care of pretty much all your home garden pruning tasks.

Clematis - When to Prune Which Clematis
Clematis are one of the most popular groups of garden perennials. Pruning clematis tends to instill fear in the stoutest of gardeners. This fear is unwarranted, since pruning clematis simply breaks down to a question of when your clematis blooms.

Evergreens: Can You Prune Evergreen Trees?
Evergreens such as fir, pine and spruce trees require little pruning, unless you want to control their size or improve their fullness. Cutting the candles back halfway, before the needles unfold, will keep the tree more compact.

Flowering Trees and Shrubs: When to Prune Spring Bloomers
When you can’t wait to get started in the spring garden, a good task to undertake is pruning. Most trees and shrubs benefit from annual pruning. But not all trees and shrubs should be pruned early, especially some of the flowering ones.

Hydrangeas - When To Prune Hydrangeas
Different types of hydrangeas need pruning at different times. You will have to know what type your plant is. Hopefully you saved the label. If not, an educated guess can be made by looking at it’s foliage and flowers.

Roses - How and When to Prune Your Roses
Pruning rose bushes is intimidating to many gardeners, but actually very good for the plants. Becoming an accomplished rose pruner takes time and practice, but keep in mind that it is very hard to kill a rose with bad pruning.