Horticulture/Pruning

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Pruning is the removal of plant material in order to improve the shape and/or health of a plant.

Herbaceous plant pruning:

Woody plant pruning:

• Terms:
  • Leader: A main branch, generally vertical and with side branches (laterals).
  • Lateral: A horizonally held branch coming off a leader.
  • Sucker: New stems or trunks emerging from therootstock of a tree or shrub.
  • Water sprout: Vertical branches arising from a lateral.
  • Crotch: Where two branches are connected at the base
  • Included bark: Bark that is squeezed between two branches within a narrow crotch.
  • Branch collar: A (generally raised) area on a large branch where the xylem and phloem go around a smaller branch.
  • Cambium: The growing tissue between the bark and the wood.
  • Dormant bud: Buds on branches or trunks that are not active and generally are not obviously visible on the bark.
  • Bleeding: Loss of sap due to unhealed cuts and/or diseased tissues.
  • Stub: Part of a branch that remains after the main part is removed by pruning or other causes.
• Types:
  • Coppicing: Cutting a tree or shrub to the ground or nearly so.
  • Thinning: Reducing the density of branches to allow air or light to penetrate the canopy.
  • Fine pruning: A pruning technique where cuts are "hidden" as much as possible in order to leave the tree or shrub looking as if it naturally grew to the resulting form.
  • Shearing: Cutting all the branches of a shrub or hedge back to a set line.
  • Topping: Cutting the branches of large trees back to a set line
  • Pollarding:
  • Limbing
  • Candling
• Order of business:
  • Deadwood
  • Damaged and diseased branches
  • Rubbing branches
  • Crossing branches
  • Branches in the way
  • Reduction
  • Aeration
  • Symmetry and form