The first thing that everyone should know about pruning is that
much like a bad haircut a botched pruning job will grow out
eventually. It’s unlikely that a person will kill a plant with
poor pruning. It may look really bad for a while, but it won’t
die. The chances of getting the job done right are improved if
you use good, sharp tools, make a clean cut and consider the
growth habit of the plant. And you can't go wrong by just
removing dead wood, crisscrossing branches and by limiting the
removal to 1/3 of the plant’s size. The most obvious reasons to
prune are to reduce the size of a plant, maintain a plant’s
shape or improve its appearance. Pruning to remove dead and
diseased wood or thin out the center branches will also help
keep a plant healthy. For instances, shrub roses or hydrangeas
that have grown too dense benefit from the removal of interior
branches to open up air circulation; good air circulation helps
keep diseases in check. Why Prune in Late Winter Pruning in late
winter when many shrubs and t