Pruning frightens many gardeners — the worry that they’ll cut something at the wrong time and kill it. The reality is that plants are resilient, and strategic pruning makes them stronger, more productive, and more attractive. The key is understanding a few basic principles that apply across most plant types.
Pruning accomplishes several goals:
Hand pruners (secateurs): For branches up to ½ inch in diameter. The most-used pruning tool. Bypass pruners (like scissors) make cleaner cuts than anvil pruners and are better for living wood.
Loppers: Long-handled pruners for branches ½–1½ inches diameter. The longer handles give leverage for thicker branches.
Pruning saw: For branches over 1½ inches. Much better than loppers for larger material — cleaner cut, less tearing.
Pole pruner: For high branches without a ladder.
Sharpness matters: Dull tools crush and tear rather than cut cleanly, leaving ragged wounds that heal slowly and invite disease. Sharpen pruners before each season with a diamond whetstone.
Sanitize between plants: Wipe blades with rubbing alcohol or a dilute bleach solution between plants to avoid spreading disease.
Where and how you cut matters.
For woody plants: Cut just above a node (where a leaf or bud attaches) or just above a side branch. Leave about ¼ inch above the node — too close and you risk damaging the bud; too far and you leave a dead stub that invites disease.
Angle of the cut: Cut at a 45-degree angle, sloping away from the bud. This sheds rain and prevents water from sitting on the cut surface.
Which direction: Cut just above a bud that faces the direction you want the new growth to go. If you want the plant to spread outward, cut above an outward-facing bud.
These bloom on old wood — meaning flower buds formed last season. Prune immediately after flowering, before new growth hardens. Pruning in late fall or winter removes next year’s blooms.
Bloom on new wood — this season’s growth. Prune in early spring before growth begins. The harder the pruning, the more vigorous the new growth and bloom.
Hybrid tea and grandiflora roses: Prune in early spring when forsythia blooms (a good timing indicator). Cut back to 12–18 inches, removing all dead, crossing, and thin canes. Cut to an outward-facing bud.
Shrub and landscape roses: Minimal pruning needed — remove dead wood and shape lightly in early spring.
Deadheading: Remove spent blooms throughout the season to encourage continuous flowering. Cut to the first leaf with 5 leaflets.
When to prune: Late winter, while dormant, just before buds swell. Dormant pruning minimizes stress and disease exposure.
Goals: Open center structure (vase shape) for stone fruits; central leader for apple and pear. Remove crossing branches, water sprouts (vertical shoots from branches), suckers from roots, and any dead or diseased wood.
How much to remove: Never remove more than 25–30% of a tree’s canopy in one season.
Summer-blooming perennials (coneflower, black-eyed Susan): Deadhead after blooming to extend the season. Cut back to the ground in fall or early spring — leaving the stalks through winter provides bird habitat.
Ornamental grasses: Cut back to 4–6 inches from the ground in late winter/early spring, just before new growth emerges. Use loppers or a hedge trimmer for large clumps. Tie the grass into a bundle before cutting for easier cleanup.
See our tomato growing guide for detailed sucker removal instructions. In general: remove suckers from indeterminate varieties throughout the season; pinch the growing tip in late summer to direct energy into ripening existing fruit before frost.
Light shaping can be done anytime during the growing season. Major pruning is best in early spring. Avoid pruning in late summer — new growth prompted by pruning won’t harden before winter.
Topping trees: Removing the main leader of a tree (cutting the top off) creates an ugly, structurally weak tree and stimulates excessive, weakly attached regrowth. Never top a tree.
Pruning at the wrong time: Spring-flowering shrubs pruned in winter won’t bloom that year. Know when your plants bloom before cutting.
Leaving stubs: Stubs die back and invite disease. Always cut to a node, bud, or branch collar.
Over-pruning: More is not more. Take less than you think you need to, stand back, evaluate, then take more if needed.
Understanding your plants’ growth habits and bloom timing is the foundation of effective pruning. Once you know whether a plant blooms on old wood or new wood, the timing becomes obvious.