Pruning is the removal of parts of a plant. It is carried out for a range of purposes including to:

• remove diseased or damaged limbs (surgery),
• promote good quality flowers or fruit (eg pruning roses)
• assist fruit harvest (eg pruning orchard trees to a vase shape),
• improve the structure of a plant (remedial pruning),
• achieve a particular growth habit (eg trimming wayward shoots on a vine)
• achieve a desired shape ( eg trimming an ornamental Fig Tree to a lollypop shape).

The term refers to a wide range of practices from nipping with the fingers to cutting with a chainsaw but in all cases the process does cut protective tissue and expose the plant to attack by pests and diseases. Pruning should be done thoughtfully so as not to disfigure the plant or unnecessarily expose it to disease.

In domestic gardens, whether to prune or not is a matter of personal taste. Ornamental plants will grow as their surrounding environment allows and do not need to be pruned. However, many gardens are designed with particular plant effects and shapes and, in order to maintain the design, plants will have to be pruned. Of course, in a formal garden with boxed hedges and geometrically shaped bushes, pruning will be both intensive and necessary to maintain the garden.

Pruning technique
Contrary to popular belief, there is no mystery to pruning and nor is it an art form. The basics are quite simple:

• Tip pruning plants in a newly established garden will help to produce denser foliage.
• Remove dead, diseased or distorted branches first.
• Next, remove inwardly growing, rubbing or crossing branches.
• Thirdly, prune to achieve the desired aesthetic effect. This may involve shaping, removing excess new growth, reducing bulk, lifting the crown or removing suckers.
• Always cut at the branch collar where a branch joins its parent limb. Never leave a stub.