Tree and Shrub Pruning Workshop with Horticulturist Richard Weir

On March 21, 2024, North Shore Land Alliance hosted a workshop for volunteers and homeowners about how to properly prune trees and shrubs. This workshop was led by Richard Weir III, who prior to retirement was the program manager for horticultural and environmental issues for Cornell Cooperative Extension in Nassau County. Richard led the group on a walk around the Humes Preserve, highlighting different tree/shrub species and explaining the whats, whens, wheres, whys and hows associated with pruning.

In Richard’s book, Pruning: An Illustrated Guide to Pruning Ornamental Trees and Shrubs, he states that, “Pruning should be viewed as a regular part of a maintenance schedule rather than as a remedial correction of long-neglected problems.” The term pruning refers to the selective removal of plant parts (branches, shoots, etc.) for a reason. Good reasons include maintaining the health of the plant, preventing injury from dead or dying limbs and controlling the size of the plant or maintaining a certain shape. The type of 26 pruning and species you are pruning will determine when it should be done.

Here are some basic pruning rules that are helpful for everyone to know. Maintenance Pruning, which is pruning plants in a selective manner to keep shrubs and trees in scale with their surroundings and healthy, should be done in March or April before the plant starts to bud. The plant is still dormant at that time and will heal itself quickly once the spring growth starts. It is important to determine branch configuration/ structure before the leaves come out. You can also prune in late June/July, a time when the major amount of new growth is completed.

Rejuvenation pruning, which is harsh and done on overgrown shrubs, must be done in late winter/early spring. Dead or diseased limbs can be removed at any time. Saving Land – Spring/Summer Newsletter 2024When you are cutting back branches, it is important to cut back to a node. A node is the point on the stem or branch where the buds or branching twigs originate.

Cutting back a branch to just above the node is important to prevent that section of the branch from dying. The other buds coming from that node will continue to grow into new branches. If a branch is clipped below the node, you leave an internode section that will die and therefore can’t form new buds.

Proper pruning requires proper pruning equipment. You will need a sharp pair of bypass hand pruners, a pruning saw and long handled loppers. Richard also recommends a pole pruner for hard-to-reach branches. The choice of tool will be dictated by the part of the plant you are pruning. If it is new growth or thin branches, hand pruners should suffice. If you are working on larger branches, loppers or a pruning saw will be more effective. It is important to remember to clean all of your tool blades with rubbing alcohol after each use to prevent diseases from being transferred from plant to plant.

Richard’s advice to homeowners is, “Don’t be hesitant to try pruning your landscape plants, as most of them are very forgiving (even if you make a mistake)”. If you are looking for more information about how to prune your ornamental shrubs, Pruning: An Illustrated Guide to Pruning Ornamental Trees and Shrubs written by Donald A. Rakow and Richard Weir III is available online at www.ccelivingstoncounty.org/ resources/guide-to-pruning-ornamental-trees-shrubs.