Garden Spot by Larry Sotnick Pruning: a blend of art and science Did you ever notice that while we're busy living life, time flies by? We can be pushing our little ones in a stroller one day, checking their homework assignments the next, and worrying about their driving permit soon after. The same might be said about that little tree or shrub you planted a few years ago. You may look out your window today and hardly recognize the plant you once brought home in the trunk of your car. Yes our landscapes have a way of getting ahead of us, devastatingly so in some cases. But there is a remedy: a sharpening stone and a good pair of hand pruners, loppers, or tree saw, and a little forethought and elbow grease. Most gardeners who prune efficiently and perceptively are rewarded with healthier and better-looking plants, shrubs and trees. Good pruning always dresses up a garden instantly, giving it a neat and cared-for appearance. It's not hard to see that pruning is one of the most creative aspects of gardening. It allows us to control the size and shape of our plants and the flowers and fruits they produce. What specifically can we achieve by pruning? The first objective is to maintain the health of the plants by keeping them free of three important things - dead, damaged or diseased branches. Pruning also is necessary to shape a plant as it grows, especially when it's young. You can make it shorter or thinner, or bushier according to what you have in mind for your specific space. Frequently we see a plant that has become much too large for the space originally allotted for it. Here a different way of pruning must be used. When a plant becomes old and leggy you must eliminate aged growth so new shoots can take over. Heavy cutback is prescribed; this is usually better in spring, fall, or winter. If you cut back in summer, and new growth emerges by fall, it may not be hearty enough to withstand winter. Keep in mind when cutting back mature landscapes that thinning is of utmost importance so light can reach inner areas of the plant. If your plant is a flowering or fruiting variety, pruning can help you achieve heavy blossoming and fruiting. You could even reverse the process to curb flowering, allowing more foliage growth. Presently, as well as in formal gardens for centuries, pruning has been used to fashion novel looking plants. These sculptured forms have become popular today, such as topiaries, spirals, pompoms, and espalier (the two dimensional form of training a plant against a wall or flat surface). Keeping in mind the many facets of pruning, the most urgent is to train a young tree or shrub by taking out undesirable branches and shaping the plant so it takes on the form you desire. As a plant grows, thinning, one of the most basic techniques, will open a plant to sunlight and air. It relieves crowding and allows space for new growth. Generally, you will want to cut off an entire branch back to the larger branch from which it grew. To thicken a plant, cutting back or heading back a plant will stimulate new growth. From the buds nearest the cut, new shoots will develop rapidly. When you shave a form hedge or topiary you are really shearing, not pruning. Plants, such as yews, boxwoods and privet, have many responsive buds that adapt well to shearing. When is the best time to prune? Many experts say any time, as long as your implement is sharp. Certainly you can prune dead, damaged, or diseased branches whenever you see them. Heavy cutback should be avoided in the summer; beyond that, when you prune might best be dictated by each plant's yearly growth cycle. Flowering shrubs, such as azalea and forsythia, should always be pruned shortly after they flower. If pruned in the fall or winter, many of their flower buds will be eliminated since they form in the fall. Differing are shrubs that bloom in the summer (such as butterfly bush or spirea). They can be pruned during winter dormancy or early spring because their flowers grow on new branches that grow during the summer. With a little thought and effort throughout the year, pruning can have a most powerful effect. Literally, it will shape the look and appeal of your garden. Whether it is to redirect energy and reshape a plant, or create more fruit and flowers, or simply let you get up your walkway without being snagged by an errant branch, pruning is an indispensable part of your gardening affair. Remember, time has a way of going by. That cute little plant you once bought can, like your kids, be taller than you in no time.