Winter is a fine time to prune many trees, shrubs, perennials, and ornamental grasses. Arguably, it's the best time, as you can more easily see the "bones" of the garden, worry less about damaging smaller, neighboring plants, and it gets you out of the house to do something physical. 

It's summer! Things are planted and blooming, you want to be outside in the nice weather, and you're keeping up proper watering practices, of course. So proper, in fact, that some plants have gone a little crazy and need pruning!

Last post, I explained the basics of heading back. Now let's look at a quick spring thinning of that beefy magnolia I mentioned before, and other ornamental trees and shrubs (examples: Japanese maple, snowbell, rhododendron, camellia, etc.). If there is a “secret” to thinning trees and shrubs to look their best, it would be this...

It’s spring already and you’ve got a garden full of healthy trees, shrubs, perennials and vines going crazy! They need pruning to keep from taking over the neighborhood, but you heard that winter and summer are the better seasons to prune. You want to know what you can do right now. Does any of this sound familiar? Then you’ve come to the right place.

Rhododendrons, arguably the Maritime Northwest’s most beloved plants, can vary from two-foot-high dwarf shrubs to 30-foot trees. Most varieties don’t typically need a lot of pruning for their first several years but over time, many rhodies grow a dense weave of thick-wooded branches, and the thought of pruning one can intimidate all but the most experienced gardener. Of course, we are here to help!

Hydrangeas are classic garden shrubs known for their bold leaves and long-lasting clusters of flowers in shades of white, pink, red, or blue, blooming from mid-summer to autumn. More varieties are becoming available, featuring unique flower shapes, leaf colors, and even stem colors! Read on to learn how to care for your hydrangeas and help them thrive.

We love our lilac shrubs with their exemplary fragrance in May but almost any lilac that has not been pruned for two years or more is likely to have flowers up high, out of optimal sniffing range. Pruning can help keep your lilac to a manageable size, accentuate its lovely form, and improve flowering. Sometimes, a complete refresh is needed (coppicing). In this post, we walk you through several options for pruning your lilac bush, using helpful diagrams.

Some of the most frequently asked questions by gardeners relate to taking care of their ornamental grasses: ”Which grasses do I prune and when should I prune them?” The easiest way to answer these questions is to divide the grasses into their two major categories: evergreen and non-evergreen.

Pruning a Japanese maple tree is not necessarily difficult, but may be intimidating at first. Here are some logical steps to help you thin your tree from the inside out, to enhance its natural beauty.

Welcome to part 2 of Promoting Wisteria Bloom. This article offers a three-year plan for pruning your wisteria for health, structure, and bloom, whether it is newly planted or already established. It therefore offers detailed, step-by-step information on intermediate and advanced pruning techniques.