Horticulture/Pruning

Pruning is the removal of plant material in order to improve the shape and/or health of a plant.

Herbaceous plant pruning:

Woody plant pruning:
 * Terms:
 * Leader: A main branch, generally vertical and with side branches (laterals).
 * Lateral: A horizonally held branch coming off a leader.
 * Sucker: New stems or trunks emerging from therootstock of a tree or shrub.
 * Water sprout: Vertical branches arising from a lateral.
 * Crotch: Where two branches are connected at the base
 * Included bark: Bark that is squeezed between two branches within a narrow crotch.
 * Branch collar: A (generally raised) area on a large branch where the xylem and phloem go around a smaller branch.
 * Cambium: The growing tissue between the bark and the wood.
 * Dormant bud: Buds on branches or trunks that are not active and generally are not obviously visible on the bark.
 * Bleeding: Loss of sap due to unhealed cuts and/or diseased tissues.
 * Stub: Part of a branch that remains after the main part is removed by pruning or other causes.
 * Types:
 * Coppicing: Cutting a tree or shrub to the ground or nearly so.
 * Thinning: Reducing the density of branches to allow air or light to penetrate the canopy.
 * Fine pruning: A pruning technique where cuts are "hidden" as much as possible in order to leave the tree or shrub looking as if it naturally grew to the resulting form.
 * Shearing: Cutting all the branches of a shrub or hedge back to a set line.
 * Topping: Cutting the branches of large trees back to a set line
 * Pollarding:
 * Limbing
 * Candling
 * Order of business:
 * Deadwood
 * Damaged and diseased branches
 * Rubbing branches
 * Crossing branches
 * Branches in the way
 * Reduction
 * Aeration
 * Symmetry and form

/Techniques