Garden Detective: Pruning trees and shrubs

It's late winter, and you know what that means: It's time to prune your trees, shrubs and woody plants.

It's important to do this while plants are dormant and you can see what you're doing. Wait until they leaf out, and your view of the branches will be obstructed. Worse, pruning during the growing phase will stress plants, because energy that should be used for growing and forming leaves and flowers will be halfheartedly redirected to healing. You might sacrifice vigor and blooms for the season, and the plants might not heal properly.

So bundle up, grab your pruners and saws, and head out now.

There are two types of pruning: selective and rejuvenative.

Selective is exactly what it sounds like: You select certain branches to remove, and you have a reason for doing so (branches are crooked and overlapping, broken, crowded).

Rejuvenative pruning is the extreme cutting back of overgrown, unproductive shrubs so they'll regrow stronger, healthier and with a better appearance.

There are three ways to rejuvenate woody plants by pruning: Sever the whole plant at the crown, just above ground level; prune every branch individually, at uneven heights, in one session; or cut back about one-third of the branches each year for three years. The latter is the least severe but requires the most patience. You'll need to weigh aesthetics versus time and decide what's right for your garden.

Most plants can handle selective pruning with ease; only healthy plants should be subjected to drastic rejuvenation. And when you're done, be sure to fertilize to help the healing along.

Here's a primer for pruning the most common types of landscape plants.

1. Cut the branch halfway through from underneath, a few inches from the trunk.

2. Move your saw a few inches farther out on the branch, away from the trunk, and cut the whole branch off from the top. This eliminates the weight of the branch and prevents tearing.

3. Make the third and final cut just outside the branch-bark ridge, sawing through the entire branch to the outside of the collar. If you were to make this complete cut without having done steps 1 and 2, the weight of the branch would cause it to rip just before separating, and the tree would have a difficult recovery and a larger area through which disease could enter.

For lilacs and other spring bloomers, wait until after flowers fall so as not to remove buds and spoil the season's show. Forsythia should be pruned every year right after flowering.

Hydrangeas are in a class all their own; actually, in several classes. Here are the basics:

This self-described "fun-loving group of orchid enthusiasts" has a simple goal: to "promote and improve the growing of orchids, and aid in every possible way in the conservation of all native orchids." Meetings include member show-and-tell sessions, raffles and sales, and presentations by guest speakers. Plant auctions are held in June and November.