Winter gardening comes in two varieties. Typically, the first technique begins in January when the first gardening catalogues start to come in the mail. This kind of gardening can be done as easily as relaxing in your favourite chair, browsing catalogues, and either daydreaming about what you're going to do this spring or actually sketching out designs for the gardens you want to work on. The second sort of winter gardening involves going outside and doing some work in the yard. Of course, you'd be better off waiting for a decent day if it's too chilly. Pruning can be done in the winter if the temperature is around 30 degrees or so. If the temperature is much below freezing, I don't advise pruning since the fragile wood will break when you make a cut.

Pruning in the winter has the benefit of allowing you to see what needs to be removed and what should remain much more clearly. That is, at least, the case for deciduous plants. Another benefit is that when the plants are dormant, you can operate on them lightly. It is advisable to prune ornamental trees to get rid of competitive branches. Weeping Cherries, Flowering Dogwoods, Flowering Crabapples, and other trees and shrubs have a propensity to send branches in various directions. It is your responsibility to select how you want the plant to look before beginning to prune.

However, first poke your head inside the tree to see what you can sift out. A number of little branches that have been deprived of sunlight are visible when you peek under the hood, and they undoubtedly don't offer anything to the plant. They should be removed because they are merely there. Cut out any branches that are extending toward the trunk of the tree where they would receive minimal sunlight. One of the branches should be cut off where two branches are crossing. Cleaning up the plant's interior will allow you to begin moulding its exterior. In reality, shaping the outside is fairly simple. Simply visualise the desired appearance of the plant and draw illustrative lines to represent the finished plant's contour.

Anything outside of these fictitious lines should be cut off. In order to encourage the plant to expand out, it is also crucial to trim the tips of branches that have not yet crossed these illustrative lines. Plants often grow in two ways: lateral branches and terminal branches. Each branch features a terminal bud at the very end as well as numerous side branches. The terminal buds expand away from the plant in an outward direction. If they are not trimmed, they just continue to grow in the same direction, resulting in a tall, extremely slender plant. The reason the trees in the forest are so frail and unattractive is because of this. A plant forms new buds right below the branch you cut when you prune it. The plant will produce additional buds after the terminal bud is removed, which is how you get a nice, full plant. Don't be frightened to trim your plants; it will make them look much nicer. They get fuller the more you cut them.

Many people find this to be quite problematic. They simply lack the motivation to prune. particularly in the case of plants like Japanese Red Maples. They can't bear the thought of even considering trimming such a plant. Do it now! It will result in a lovely plant for you. Consider the plant logically. Cut a branch if you see one that appears to be moving too far in the wrong direction. An error will cause it to regenerate. You can only make one error: not pruning. I hope this is helpful and won't put you in conflict with your partner. Over pruning has been the origin of many a family dispute.