When Todd Irvine spoke ar our monthly Master Gardener meeting October '26, I wanted to learn more, so I booked him to give me a lesson in my own backyard.
- Understand how trees and shrubs grow.
- Choose the right tree/shrub for conditions
- Know why you are pruning
- Prune for good structure and health
- Use proper pruning cuts
It helps to have a basic understanding of how trees and shrubs grow. Their trunks pull up nutrients from the soil, and the leaves serve to photosynthesize and provide transpiration. Trees will naturally prune themselves back to where they are shaded, as those areas that don't get sunlight die back. If you prune the branch of too many of its leaves, the branch will not be able to feed itself properly and will die.
When Todd arrived, Rob and I were pulling our ficus onto the deck for its summer vacation, so began the lesson there.
What is it you want to accomplish? Shape it, make it smaller, prune for health? Yes to all of the above. The ficus needed some serious trimming. By examining the new growth we could see this specimen had already grown 4"- 6" since the start of spring. At about 7 years old, it was a bit too mature for pruning that would influence early growth habit; in fact like many ficus sold the trunk had been braided, and we could see how it had fused together. There were lots of inner branches crossing and Todd advised not to get too fussed about it, as a more mature tree, it was a little too late to address its basic structure.
Always prune to growing points, or nodes. There are two types of cuts
- Removal (whole branch), smaller branch to bigger
- Reduction (reducing length by nodes), bigger branch to smaller
Start minimally! Once you've cut that branch off, it's not going to grow back. Lots of small cuts are easier for the plant to handle.
Look at the growth increments. Usually the inner branches do not grow as rapidly, they aren't getting as much sun. We certainly saw that on the ficus! So, 'thin' by thoughtful reduction on outer growth vs. removing the inside centre.
Generally you want your pruning to go unnoticed.
There are lots of oversimplified recommendations, such as 'no rubbing branches', or 'no crossing branches' but they don't always apply.
For example, the 'no topping' rule. Rob and I already ignored that advice on our dwarf white pine, when it was getting too high for the sight line. Now it is a matter of trying to keep some space between the white pine and balsam next to it. Minimal cuts on the balsam did the trick.
I had left my daphne alone until Todd's visit. I thought it was scorched, but on closer inspection, we saw branches had been broken by the weight of winter snow, so removed them. But we left the centre of it alone, hoping it will naturally fill in with new growth over the season. We then crawled underneath the weeping Japanese maple in the front and trimmed out the dead branches underneath. Since parts of the juniper and maple were infringing on the driveway, we removed them. A branch on the Japanese maple in the back was bending in on itself, it didn't need any cutting as it was young enough to manipulate it to grow free.
Very useful tips. I especially like the advice to avoid over-generalizations. If I followed the 'right' method, I would lose the beautiful seedpods that overwinter on the tree peony - instead I cut them off just as the buds begin to form. The peony doesn't seem to suffer for it! Ditto the hydrangea.
Todd took a moment to show us how to sharpen the blades on our tools by staying flat to the edge. I'll be ordering a sharpening stone and may even treat myself to a pair of #8 Felco Pruners.
Now, after Todd's visit I am less intimidated by the prospect of pruning. It's a real art, one you learn by doing. Now I can practice more confidently.
