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As a landscape designer and a devoted pruning fiend, my pruning design goal is always to best show the beauty and grace of each landscape plant. Each shrub and tree should look its best whatever the season.

Trees and shrubs can be pruned at any time of year but winter is a particularly good time to prune since trees and shrubs are dormant and can tolerate heavy pruning (up to one third of the plant).

A book on pruning can be a helpful resource in understanding the fundamentals of good pruning practices. For example, there is something called a branch collar which is that swelling at the base of every branch where it meets its main support, it may not be very obvious but it's always there.

A branch is cut just a fraction beyond the collar so that the cut will scar over as quickly as possible. Big rule number 1: do not leave stubs, if a stub is left the plant has to wait for it to die, rot and fall off before it can scar over. This can take years. Sometimes the stub sends out little suckers which can be less than pleasing to the eye. Also cut out dead, weak and one of two crossing or rubbing branches as well as awkward, ungraceful or broken ones. Cut them back to the next graceful branch or to the main stem remembering to cut just beyond the branch collar. I am not too concerned about cutting off a few “flower” buds.

Careful pruning in winter should be done to ensure that a shrub looks good in its bare branched mode which is a significant part of the year. To thin an old and/or lanky shrub, you can use a three year renewal cycle which is a traditional method. Start by cutting out up to one third of the oldest branches at the base, without leaving stubs. The next year remove one third of the oldest and the next year do the same. Thus renewing the shrub. You can do this annually. However, I like the shape of old knobby branches (on a lilac for example) and leave them as long as they are still viable and have an attractive shape.

If you want the most flowers on your shrubs remember that shrubs that bloom in the spring should be pruned right after their blooms have faded because they will soon start to set buds for the following year. Bushes that bloom in the summer (Rose of Sharon for example) should be pruned in early spring so as not to interfere with buds forming for summer. Because I prune for a graceful shape, I am not too concerned about cutting off a few buds.