How to trim shrubs with electric trimmer

Your grass isn’t the only thing that needs an occasional trim if you’re trying to keep your landscape looking its best. Your plants also need some care. Pruning 101 explains how to trim bushes, hedges, and shrubs to keep them looking their best and growing strong and healthy.

Giving your plants a much-needed haircut can feel daunting.

You might not turn into a topiary master, but you’ll definitely have the know-how to bob the boxwoods, lop the lilacs, prune the privet, and shear the spirea.

Here’s the answer to landscaping dilemmas that keep cropping up:

Why Prune?

Pruning is both a growth retarding process and a bud-invigorating process.

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Buds on a pruned plant are exposed to more sunshine, and that sunshine encourages new growth and leads to larger leaves, flowers, and fruit.

There are many reasons to prune, says Patrick O’Malley, horticulture specialist with the Iowa State Extension in Van Buren County.

“One is to shape the plant so it’s better-looking,” he says. “You can prune it to encourage flowering.”

Sometimes pruning keeps a formal hedge looking good, O’Malley said

how to prune bushes in spring

how to prune plants in spring