<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"  A report from Harris Dupre, junior at Stony Brook University, The State University of New York. The conditions are perfect. It&amp;#039;s not too cold or too hot. You finally have the time: maybe it&amp;#039;s a weekend or a lazy afternoon. You aren&amp;#039;t too tired and you&amp;#039;d like to indulge in the zen-like activity of pruning that can make your garden or front yard look much, much better. We published our top picks for pruning shears in July, so you can be sure you&amp;#039;re geared up with the best tools. But if you&amp;#039;re not careful you can wind up with butchered bushes that take months to grow back. Luckily, two plant pruning pros were available to give us their expert tips. We caught up with Kristin Schleiter, the Associate VP of Outdoor Gardens and Senior Curator at The New York Botanical Garden, and Chris Roddick, Foreman of Grounds and Arbor Culture at The Brooklyn Botanic Garden. GHRI: What are the main reasons people should be pruning their plants? KS: To make their property look nicer. If things are getting too large for the yard, they need to be cut to a proper scale. In certain zones, shrubs die down to the ground every winter and start growing again in the spring. Cutting away their dead growth allows air to circulate aroound the plants. GHRI: What are some signs that a plant needs pruning? CR: If we&amp;#039;re talking shrubs, it could be sparse flowering or that they look overgrown. Oftentimes, pruning promotes more vigorous and robust flowering. If it&amp;#039;s a cane-type shrub (like forsythias), pruning out the older stems stimulates juvenile growth, which is generally more attractive. KS: Big branches that cross or rub together can make sores on plants and rub away bark, giving an opening to pests and diseases. GHRI: What parts of a plant are the main targets for pruning, and why? CR: In general, you want to prune back to the branch collar (the place where branches meet). You should cut without cutting into it or leaving a stub. By making a first cut about a foot up the branch, you can remove the weight of the branch before performing final cut. KS: If you want to open up a plant and see the architecture you take off bigger branches, but if you want to keep it neat and tidy you cut smaller branches. GHRI: What parts of the plant should generally not be touched, and why? CR: We try to preserve the healthiest part of the plant. With older plants you want to remove as little living tissue as possible. GHRI: Any general tips on technique? KS: Pruning&amp;#039;s an art and it&amp;#039;s a good idea to take a little bit of time to look at the plant before you start rather than begin snipping away. A rule we follow is that you can take a little more off, but you can&amp;#039;t put it back on. Cut at an angle; don&amp;#039;t cut blunt across so that water won&amp;#039;t sit at the end of the branch. Make a clean, sharp cut and be careful not to tear bark down the plant or mash the inside of the plant. GHRI: Is there a better season, time of day, or type of weather for pruning? CR: You want to prune summer flowering plants in the late winter so flowers bloom on the new growth. On the other hand, spring flowering shrubs should be pruned right after flowering. The two times of year when you shouldn&amp;#039;t prune, especially on trees, is when the leaves are emerging and when they&amp;#039;re changing color because that&amp;#039;s when a tree&amp;#039;s natural defense is the lowest. KS: In general, you wouldn&amp;#039;t want to prune in August when it&amp;#039;s 100 degrees outside or in a drought. When you prune a plant you&amp;#039;re spurring on new growth, so you wouldn&amp;#039;t want to prune in early November where an early frost could hit the plant just when it&amp;#039;s trying to push new growth. GHRI: Anything else a gardener can do while pruning that would be bad for the health of the plant? CR: Over-pruning is the biggest mistake. The best pruners know when to stop. In general, it&amp;#039;s better to prune a little bit each year than a lot in one year. GHRI: What kind of maintenance should be done on pruners to ensure they&amp;#039;re in top shape? CR: Just run a small file or sharpening stone on one edge of the pruners. Every time I go out to prune I sharpen the edge. If I&amp;#039;m pruning a lot in one day I keep a sharpening stone in my pocket. Also, keep the pruners in a sheath on your belt, don&amp;#039;t lay them on the ground because they&amp;#039;ll pick up dirt. KS: After pruning something very sappy you should clean the pruners. In the winter give them a spritz of WD-40 and wrap them in cloth to keep them from rusting. GHRI: Finally, what kind of safety precautions should gardeners be taking? KS: It&amp;#039;s a good idea to have gloves on. Always make sure you have eyes on a cut, don&amp;#039;t just stick your hands up a plant and make a cut you can&amp;#039;t see, or you can easily take off a finger. If you&amp;#039;re pruning overhead, make sure you can support the branch you&amp;#039;re cutting so it won&amp;#039;t fall on you. Even better, have someone working with you. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/institute/a23840/how-to-prune-plants/>