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Correct pruning can be a "shear" delight. A haphazardly pruned plant can be as unsightly as a bad  haircut. Review these simple pruning tips before picking up your shears:
NEVER...
- Cut all shoots or stems to the same height
 Shear hedges so they're narrow at the bottom- Prune any spring flowering plants before they get a chance to bloom
- Leave short stubs
- Trim a shoot or stem without leaving a bud on the end
No more than 30% of a mature tree's foliage should be removed in any one year.
Selective Pruning vs. Topping Trees
Select limbs to be removed. Thinning our pruning helps trees maintain a natural shape. Even proper pruning can stress trees. Tree wound dressing is not recommended or needed on any pruning cut or wound. Avoid "topping" your trees. It usually causes growth of "suckers" and water sprouts. Water sprouts are weak, sterile limbs that grow from stubs.
The following common cuts are used by professional arborists and should be used with caution:
- Thinning Cut
Used to shorten a large limb back to a side branch large enough to resume growth of the pruned limb. Thinning cuts are the correct choice to maintain trees.
- Stub Cut
An indiscriminate cut where no bud or side limb exists. Highly destructive to the tree and should be used only when removing the tree.
- Heading Cut
The result of trimming a limb back to a bud or a very small branch that can't support the growth of the pruned limb. Should only be used when removing a tree.
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