DIY Network

Garden Basics: Pruning Tools and Tips for Keeping Your Garden Well Groomed From "Dirt On Gardening" episode DDOG-112

Kristine Hanson shows the four basic tools of pruning.

Pruning is one of the most essential of good gardening practices, and anyone serious about gardening should have some good quality pruning tools. Kristine Hanson, host of DIY's The Dirt on Gardening recommends four basic pruning tools:

• Hand pruners--for basic trimming and light pruning;
  
• Tree loppers-- for cutting limbs up to an inch around;
  
• Bow-saw-- for cutting larger branches;
  
• Hedge shears (hand-clippers or electric)--for trimming back new growth on hedges and shrubs.

Pole-pruners are another useful tool, used for trimming high branches. Some are equipped with a small saw.

Like any cutting tool, pruning tools must be sharp in order to be effective. Many garden centers offer tool sharpening for a reasonable fee.

Most gardeners think of fall as pruning season but there are a lot of good reasons to prune in the spring. One of those reasons is to remove dead flowers. Every time you remove a dead flower in the spring, you're encouraging new growth--either flowers for this season or next season. Below are some more tips on pruning from Dirt on Gardening's Farmer Fred.

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Remove Dead Wood

Before removing any allegedly dead wood, give it the bend or break test. Take that branch and slowly bend it. If it bends without breaking it's still alive. Don't worry it'll get new growth. If it snaps, it's dead..

Remove Suckers

Another good reason for spring pruning is to remove suckers from trees. Suckers sprout up from the base of the tree and rob the tree of nutrients. Remove them.

Thin Fruit Trees

Fruits that touch each other tend to be more likely to rot or have bad spots. If you thin out the fruit that are touching, the ones that are left behind will be bigger and tastier.

Pruning Fruit Trees

One of the best reasons to spring prune your deciduous fruit trees and those are trees that loses its leaves in the winter, is to maintain the height. Let's face it, any fruit that's taller than you can reach is for the birds. So start clipping the branches. Never take off more than one third of the total length.

Major pruning jobs are best left for fall, but if you want to do a little spring pruning now you'll save yourself some time next autumn.