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. 

Three Ways to Take Classes

 1.  PlantAmnesty holds classes on the second Sundays of each month 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: $30 per class, $25 for PlantAmnesty members, $10 for horticulture college students and non-native English 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! 

 2.  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

3.  We are offering the entire Master Pruner Series at Bellevue Botanical Garden Beginning February 4! Two classes will be held every Tuesday, the first from 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. and the second from 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. CLICK HERE to view the entire schedule.

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

Master Pruner Class
Rose Pruning

Master Pruner Classes
Shrubs I & II

This class covers basic cuts, basic plant habits and what Cass Turnbull called the “pruning budget”. It also covers five plants that are relatively easy to prune: 

nandina, evergreen azalea, lilac, camellia and yew.

Shrubs II: The Shearables, Hackables and Untouchables with Anna Moore. 
There are some plants that are cut to the ground each year, but there are others you barely touch and it’s pandemonium! Find out which ones are which, 
as well as which plants can be sheared every year.

Master Pruner Classes
Fruit Tree Pruning with Don Marshall &Shrubs III with George Lasch

When: Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Fruit Tree Pruning with Don Marshall
Learn the basics of fruit tree pruning, and why you should prune them differently than other trees.  This class will cover apple, cherry, plum, and pear trees.

Shrubs III: The Puzzlers and Consequences with George Lasch
This class teaches how to prune some of the most common, yet confusing plants that we love, including Rhododendron, Hydrangea, Callicarpa (Beautyberry), 
Viburnum bodnantense and Abelia.