Master Pruner Series and Certification

Each year PlantAmnesty expert instructors teach pruning techniques in our twelve-part Master Pruner Series. Topics include: artistic pruning, fruit trees, landscape renovation, Japanese garden pruning, ornamental vines, pruning roses, and species-specific tutorials. This series provides students with a solid base in the science and practice of selective pruning. Students are given access to a broad range of pruning information at each two-hour presentation. 

For a full description of the program, including class descriptions, schedule and fees, see our Full List of Classes and Workshops.  Classes are open to master gardeners, landscapers, gardeners, horticulture students as well as the general public. Students may complete Master Pruner classes individually or complete the entire series. 

Two Ways to Take Classes

PlantAmnesty holds classes on the second Sundays of each month (except August and December) in the Brig at Magnuson Park (6344 NE 74th Street, Seattle 98115). Preregistration is not required. Just arrive a few minutes early and pay at the door. Cost: $25 per class, $20 for PlantAmnesty members, $5 for horticulture college students and native Spanish speakers. Join PlantAmnesty at any Magnuson Park pruning class and you will receive the following new member benefits: your first class free, an informational two-hour pruning DVD and a discount on future classes! The Master Pruner series is available two ways:

  1. The ProHort Program of the University of Washington Botanic Garden’s Center for Urban Horticulture offers the the Master Pruner Series on weekdays each winter. Preregistration is required.  Click here for details.  For a printable flyer, click here.

To receive a Master Pruner Certificate of Graduation, students are required to attend all twelve lectures (at either location) and three workshops provided by PlantAmnesty. A graduation ceremony is held each fall. Seminars attended at either location count towards the Master Pruner certificate, but the programs are administered and priced separately by the host organizations. 

Workshops

Workshops are designed for home gardeners, landscape professionals, and students enrolled in the Master Pruner Series.  Complete details and materials are sent to students a few weeks prior to each workshop.  Do you know a yard that needs an Extreme Makeover? We are on the look-out for renovation workshop sites. 

Click here for 2018 site requirements.

altSpring 2017 Renovation Workshop

Upcoming Classes and Workshops   

 

  Difficult Plants to Prune CLASS

  When:    Sunday, July 8, 2018 -- 10am - noon
  Where:   Sand Point Magnuson Park; 6344 NE 74th St (The Brig)
  Fee:        $25/class; $20 for PlantAmnesty members; $5 for
                  horticulture students and native Spanish speakers

 

This class teaches how to prune Rhododendron, Hydrangea, Callicarpa (Beautyberry), Viburnum bodnantense and Abelia. Included in this class

 are basic pruning techniques, common pruning mistakes and corrective pruning.

Taught by Ken Tuomi

 

Summer Fruit-Tree Pruning WORKSHOP

When: Saturday, July 21 10 am - 3 pm
Where: TBD
Fee:  $75 for members; $85 for non members
Pre-registration is required
Call 206-783-9813



Fruit tree pruning experts will demonstrate fruit tree pruning throughout the day in small groups providing ample opportunities for students to give it a try.

 

UW Master Pruner Series for Professionals

 

This lecture series is designed for those who work in landscape maintenance.

There are 2 classes each day with classes lasting 2 hours Wednesdays, running from July 11 - August 22nd.

Click here to see the UW Master Pruner Series Professionals Flyer

Register Here 

Cost is $33 per class, $28 for PlantAmnesty members. You can also register for the entire series for $336 (saving $5 per class) or  $276 for PlantAmnesty members.

July 11, 2018
9:30 a.m.  Tree Pruning I
                  The science and biology behind tree pruning with minimal injury to the tree.

12:30 p.m. Tree Pruning II
                   The "how-to's" for making good cuts, structural pruning for trees of any age, pruning standards
                   and crown restoration.

July 25, 2018
9:30 a.m.  Prune and Renovate the Overgrown Landscape
                 Basic pruning and creative solutions for the overgrown and over planted landscape.
12:30 p.m. Rose Pruning
                  Learn the right way to prune roses: hybrid teas, climbers and landscape roses.

August 1, 2018
9:30 a.m.  Japanese Garden Pruning
                 Specialized pruning techniques for Japanese maples, bamboo, cloud pruning of pines and tamamono
                 shearing will be covered.
12:30 p.m. Fruit Tree Pruning
                  This class takes the confusion out of pruning fruit trees.

August 8, 2018
9:30 a.m.  Five Easy Plants to Prune
                 This talk focuses on nandina, evergreen azalea, lilac, camellia and yew.
12:30 p.m. Difficult Plants to Prune
                  Basic pruning techniques, common mistakes, and corrective pruning for Rhododendron, Hydrangea,
                  Callicarpa, Viburnum bodnantense and Abelia

August 15, 2018
9:30 a.m.  Vine Pruning
                 Take control! This lecture covers pruning of common ornamental vines: wisteria, clematis, Boston ivy,
                 Virginia creeper, honeysuckle and trumpet vine.
12:30 p.m. Pruning Art or Atrocity?
                  Three forms of mal-pruning will be explained and compared with bona-fide examples of pruning art such as
                  pleaching, pollarding and coppicing.

August 22, 2018
9:30 a.m.  The Shearables, Hackables and Untouchables
                  Find out which plants are which, and how to correctly shear.
12:30 p.m. Rehabilitative Pruning
                  This advanced class will discuss how to restore mal-pruned trees and shrubs

How to Renovate and Prune the Overgrown Garden CLASS

When:    Sunday, September 9, 2018 -- 10am - noon
Where:   Sand Point Magnuson Park; 6344 NE 74th St (The Brig)
Fee:        $25/class; $20 for PlantAmnesty members; $5 for
                horticulture students and native Spanish speakers

PlantAmnesty’s most popular class, an introductory class on pruning and landscape renovation.

Taught by Keith Dekker

 

 

     Fall Renovation WORKSHOP


     When: Saturday September 15, 2018  10 am - 3 pm
     Where: TBD
     Fee: $85 for members; $95 for non members
     Pre-registration is required
     Call 206-783-9813     

Renovation Workshops are a popular hands-on all-day event that features a rare 5:1 student-teacher ratio and real-world experience. Students will learn pruning and creative solutions for the overgrown garden      through hands-on experience as an entire yard is renovated during the class. Topics discussed include pruning, transplanting, and landscape maintenance.  The group will move through an overgrown landscape while instructors give on-the-spot evaluations of plants and demonstrations of pruning. Workshop participants will then cycle between jobs to learn what the landscape has to offer.  These workshops typically take place at a private residence within King County selected for its neglected state and diverse plant material.  All participants receive a pruning DVD and handouts on various pruning topics.

 

 

    Fall Renovation WORKSHOP In Spanish


     When: Friday, October 5, 2018  8:30am – 3:30pm
     Fee: $50 for members; $60 for non-members
     Pre-registration is required.
     Call 206-783-9813 


This class and hands-on field day is designed for Spanish-speaking landscape professionals. George Ortiz, CLT, will give the morning
 lecture.  In the afternoon everyone will assemble at a landscape for hands-on practice on common landscape trees and shrubs.
Participants will work in small groups with experienced teachers.  A PlantAmnesty certification of completion will be given.

 

 

 Tree Pruning 2 CLASS

 When:    Sunday, October 14, 2018 -- 10am - noon
 Where:   Sand Point Magnuson Park; 6344 NE 74th St (The Brig)
 Fee:        $25/class; $20 for PlantAmnesty members; $5 for
                horticulture students and native Spanish speakers

This is the HOW-TO class for pruning trees (not fruit or nut trees). How to prune a tree limb, how to find the branch collar, pruning of young and mature trees, pruning standards, crown restoration, and the basics of tree risk assessment will be covered.

Taught by Bess Bronstein

 

  The Shearables, Hackables, and Untouchables CLASS

  When:    Sunday, November 11, 2018 -- 10am - noon
  Where:   Sand Point Magnuson Park; 6344 NE 74th St (The Brig)
  Fee:        $25/class; $20 for PlantAmnesty members; $5 for
                horticulture students and native Spanish speakers

 Some plants are cut to the ground each year. But barely touch others,
 and all hell breaks loose. Find out which ones are which, as well as
 which plants are appropriately sheared every year. Learn how to prune
 butterfly bush, lavatera, heather, lavender, rockrose, broom, witch
 hazel, and others.


Taught by Anna Moore