Dull clippers, hedge trimmers, hand pruners and hedge shears will create a jagged cut more.

When pruning shrubs, try to maintain the natural shape of the plants by removing individual branches. Using loppers or hand pruners, remove dead, damaged, crossing, and crowded branches back to the base of the plant.

Avoid shearing flowering shrubs with hedge shears. Cut back to a bud that faces out, away from the central stem or trunk. Apr 20, Shrubs that get abundant light and air circulation are healthier than shrubs with compact centers. To thin a dense shrub, prune up to one-third of its side branches where they connect to Estimated Reading Time: 5 mins. Maintenance - Proactive pruning to keep shrubs healthy and looking good. Start with dead and diseased stems; Remove any crossing, rubbing or inward facing stems.

Reduce size by cutting one or two older stems to ground level. Prune a few longer branches back to shorter adjoining branches.

Renewal – For overgrown shrubsEstimated Reading Time: 1 min. Jun 19, Pruning shrubs via heading cuts will keep them at the right height for your landscape, but experts say to never cut more than one-quarter of the height of a plant. Prune young plants in their first year or two within 1 foot of the ground, so stems are shortened and Estimated Reading Time: 8 mins.

soon finds it necessary to clip or prune plants frequently to keep them within bounds. For instance, frequent pruning is assured when photinia shrubs are selected as foundation plants, since this plant can quickly grow to ' tall.

Utilizing a low-growing, compact shrub in such a location would greatly reduce or eliminate required pruning.