The importance of pruning in caring for a garden cannot be underestimated. In fact, no plant in a garden can fulfill its role without proper pruning. As a gardener prunes, he or she should keep the following in mind:

–Pruning is one of the most important facets of plant care and garden development, but it is too often practiced without an awareness of the beauty latent in individual plants or an understanding of their roles in the garden’s composition. This ignorance shows in the hacked, buzz-cut trees and sheared-but-dying shrubs that continue to mar our roadways and neighborhoods.

By studying individual plant appearances, habits, and growth potentials in natural settings and in well-maintained gardens, a gardener will be able to visualize how these plants might look in his or her own garden, with proper care.

Contributed by James Hanselman

The Gardener (& experienced pruner)