How to Prune Ornamental Shrubs

Ornamental shrubs are pruned to control the size and shape of the shrub, or to remove dead, diseased or broken branches. Use hand shears when pruning ornamental shrubs for all branches that have a diameter of up to 3/4 inch. Lopping shears should be used on larger branches. Keep your pruning shears sharp, and disinfect them with alcohol after each use to prevent the spread of disease.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Time your pruning well. Prune your ornamental shrub in early spring, if it flowers in late spring or summer. If your ornamental shrub flowers in early spring, wait until it is done flowering before pruning. Avoid pruning your ornamental shrub in late summer or fall, because pruning stimulates new growth that may not be able to survive the winter.

2. Start by cutting off any dead, diseased or damaged branches. Thin them off of the plant by cutting them off at ground level, or cutting them off at the main branch or trunk of the shrub, depending on the type of shrub you have.

3. Thin any branches that stick out from the desired shape of the shrub, or make the shrub larger than you want it to be. Again, cut back to the ground or the trunk of the shrub.

4. Head back the shrub to limit the size and control the direction of new growth. When heading back a shrub, you cut off a portion of a branch, not an entire branch like you do when thinning. Make your cut at a point of new growth, such as a bud. The direction that the bud is pointing is the direction the new growth takes. Heading back is often used to make a bush fuller.

5. Maintain a regular schedule of pruning your ornamental shrub every year. An shrub that has been allowed to get out of control is much more difficult to prune.