Prune to maintain intended purposes for plants in a landscape:

To encourage flower and fruit development.

To maintain a dense hedge.

To maintain or encourage a desired plant form or special garden forms.

Prune to improve plant appearance

Appearance in the landscape is essential to a plant's usefulness. For most landscapes, a plant's natural form is best. Avoid shearing shrubs into tight geometrical forms unless they need to be confined or trained for a specific purpose. When plants are properly pruned, it's hard to tell that they've been pruned. With the Australian Timber Trainers Association you can have the best detail now.

Prune to:

Control plant size and shape.

Keep shrubby evergreens well-proportioned and dense.

Remove unwanted branches, waterspouts, suckers and undesirable fruiting structures that detract from plant appearance.

Prune to protect people and property

Remove dead branches. Have hazardous trees taken down. Prune out weak or narrow-angled tree branches that overhang homes, parking areas, sidewalks and anyplace falling limbs could injure people or damage property. Eliminate branches that interfere with street lights, traffic signals and overhead wires. Do not attempt to prune near electrical and utility wires. Contact utility companies or city maintenance workers to handle it. Prune branches that obscure vision at intersections. For security purposes, prune shrubs or tree branches that obscure the entry to your home.

About the Company: Towie Timber Training (TTT) provides nationally recognised training, safety and a consultancy service specialising but not confined to the forestry and timber products industry. TTT is a family business based in Mandurah, Western Australia. Bill Towie is the principal of TTT and a Forester with 40 years of experience in Forestry and aligned industries in Western Australia. Bill understands the pressures, difficulties and needs of the industry in Western Australia.