Where do I start? Pruning

For beginner gardeners, getting to grips with the fundamentals can seem daunting. But in this 12-part exclusive series, Alan Titchmarsh is sharing his wisdom to help you master the skills that really matter. This month, find out why pruning is beneficial to trees and shrubs, why you need a plan before starting a job, and when it's best to leave a plant alone. Follow Alan's tips, pick up your secateurs with confidence and take the fear out of pruning for good.

- Alan Titchmarsh

You'll learn about:

✔ Choosing the correct tools for the job

✔ Mastering different methods of pruning

✔ Understanding what to prune when

The kindest cut

Pruning is perhaps the most daunting task facing any gardener novice and enthusiast alike. This is probably because, aside from being seemingly complicated, it is impossible to stick back a part of a plant you wish you had not cut off!

But most mistakes can be rectified by time and if you know why you are pruning a particular tree or shrub before you start, then you can have in your mind a picture of what you are hoping to achieve.

Pruning comes in many forms, from simple deadheading (the removal of faded flowers to brighten up the plant and to prevent unwanted seed production), to clipping topiary specimens to create living garden sculpture, or cutting hard back to encourage more young wood.

Just make sure you are comfortable with your aims before you start and mistakes will be avoided.

What is pruning?

In a nutshell, pruning is the removal of part of a plant to influence its subsequent growth. Woody plants - trees and shrubs - have a clever system of growth. The 'terminal bud' - the bud at the very tip of a shoot - produces growth-inhibiting chemicals, which it passes down the stem to discourage the buds lower down from growing. This makes sure that the plant can grow upwards towards the light, where more food is to be found via photosynthesis.

If we cut off the shoot tip, no growth inhibitors are passed down the stem, with the result that the lower buds begin to grow. This is why we pinch out shoot tips, or cut them off, to encourage bushiness in all kinds of plants.