What is GOOD pruning?
Why does it matter?
Wander, Ponder, and Prune
What began as a few presentations to raise awareness grew into a full educational series of lecture style classes and hands-on workshops we call the Master Pruner Series.
Developed over 30+ years, the series consists of more than a dozen 2-hour classes and several hands-on workshops covering topics like fruit tree pruning, renovating overgrown landscapes, and Japanese pine pruning, that provide students with a solid base in the science and practice of selective pruning. The curriculum is developed and owned by PlantAmnesty and taught by trained instructors who are professionals in the field and bring years of personal experience to their classes. Over 400 “students” attend our classes and workshops each year.
Don’t be intimidated by the series as a whole, anyone can attend our pruning classes and they can be taken in any order. Take them all or just take the ones that interest you; there is no requirement to complete the program or become a Master Pruner. There’s also no requirement to be a horticultural professional or a homeowner. If you have an interest in learning how trees and shrubs grow, understanding plants in the landscape, or just want to know if that tree down the block has been butchered and what’ll happen to it, our classes are for you!
Note that many workshops have class prerequisites to make sure you know the basics before snip happens at the workshops.
Good pruning maintains or improves the long term health and safety of plants and reduces future maintenance.
Know the impacts of malpruning:
It works against the natural form shortens a plant’s lifespan, increasing removal and replacement costs
It increases chance of frost, drought, insect, and disease damage
It increases maintenance costs to manage the plant’s growth response to bad pruning cuts (see the Pruning Hall of Shame for examples)
Topping in particular creates dangerous hazard trees with weakly attached watersprouts likely to break in a wind storm
Shearing removes the aesthetic value of textures, foliage colors, flowers, and fruits
Cass’s ghost will haunt you and shame you
FILTER BY:
