Pruning your existing garden plants in the spring is an essential part of keeping your garden healthy. Almost all perennial garden plants need regular pruning, not only to promote healthy new growth but to help keep the plants from becoming diseased as well. 

Pruning helps proper airflow throughout the plant, which helps to keep moisture on the plant down and prevents fungus from growing. Since many perennial plants, such as herbaceous perennials, die down to the ground over the winter, pruning also helps to remove dead and unsightly parts to the plant which makes them more aesthetically pleasing. 

Choosing Your Pruning Tools

In order to prune your plants properly, you will need to have the proper pruning tools. Most common gardening pruning can be done with a pair of short-handled pruners or a pair of long-handled pruners. If you have very tall trees that you would like to prune, a long handled pruning shear or one with a telescoping pole will be required as well. 

Pruning tools should be high quality tools that are ergonomically correct to make them easier to use. They should be kept very sharp and clean, and only used to cut plant based materials to help keep them from becoming dull. 

Pruning in the Garden

Not all plants will need to be pruned in the same way. Some plants only need to be pruned back lightly. Other plants, you should remove at least half of the previous years growth. And in other cases, the plants should be pruned back almost to the ground to help make the plant grow better. For some plants, you will only need to remove any dead or diseased growth that you find in order to keep the plant healthy. 

For most plants, even if you go a little overboard in your pruning, the plant will still be able to survive and come out safe and healthy. If you are concerned about pruning too much and do not want to prune your plant back too far for fear of killing it, at least make sure and prune any dead or diseased growth, any sucker vines that have grown at the base of the plant, or any branches that appear to be weak. 

Common Plants that Need Regular Spring Pruning

The following are some of the most common plants that a gardener may have in their yard that require regular pruning every spring to ensure they grow well and stay healthy. If you have one of these plants in your yard, you will definitely need to make sure it gets pruned in the spring. 

· Flowering Dogwood
· Lilac
· Rhododendron
· Roses
· Clematis
· Trumpet Vine
· Wisteria

If in doubt, you can always research the type of plant that you have, to determine whether or not it needs pruning. You should also easily be able to find information on how much pruning you should do, to ensure that the plant stays healthy and beautiful.