Cutting back shrubs keeps precious plants healthy, looking neat, and putting on a fantastic annual display of flowers. Pruning backyard shrubs is a hugely important task in any gardening calendar ...

The best way to rejuvenate these plants is to cut them back during the dormant season. First cut out dead, diseased and crossing stems, and then thin the number of remaining stems by half.

When considering how to prune azaleas, take into account that such pruning isn’t actually a necessity unless your bushes have outgrown their allotted space. You can prevent that by planting azaleas ...