Corona Tools Principles of Pruning How To Guide

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PRUNING CUTS EVERY GARDENERS SHOULD KNOW
Pruning is necessary to
promote good plant health,
remove damaged limbs,
encourage new growth,
and maintain shape. There
are four basic pruning cuts, each aimed at producing a
different effect. Use sharp, clean tools and wipe-down
blades with a clean cloth when moving from plant
to plant.
Tip: For cuts that involve cutting above a growth bud,
angle it at about 45 degrees, with the lowest point of
the cut opposite the bud and even with it, the highest
point about 1/4 inch above the bud.
Pinching
To stop a stem from growing longer, help shape a
small-leafed shrub, and to encourage bushy growth,
pinch the terminal bud (the new clusters of leaves at
the tip of a stem with your thumb and forefi nger. Do
this with annual and perennial fl owers.
Heading
To encourage dense growth, shorten branches, redi-
rect growth and help shape small shrubs and fl owering
perennials, cut further back on the shoot than with
pinching. Use hand-pruners to remove a portion of the
branch to just above a healthy bud or side branch.
Thinning
To shorten limbs, improve light penetration into plants
and to direct the growth of shoots or limbs, remove an
entire limb or branch either back to its point of origin
on the main stem or to the point where it joins another
branch. Use hand-held pruners, loppers, or a pruning
saw to make thinning cuts, depending on the thickness
of the branch being cut.
Shearing
To create a hedge or bush with a spherical or square
form on small-leafed plants such as boxwoods, use
hand-held or electric hedge shears to closely trim
leaves until the desired shape is achieved. Shearing
stimulates many buds to produce new growth, so you’ll
be repeating the job regularly once you start.
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