PruningWhy, where and when to cut, and the rule about flowering time.Practical skillsPruning directs growth; it is not tidying.1Remove the three Ds firstDead, damaged and diseased wood. Always, at any time of year.2Then crossing branchesAnything rubbing will wound and admit disease.3Open the centreAir and light through the middle reduce fungal problems.4Cut just above an outward budAt a slight angle away from it. Growth follows the bud's direction.5Never remove more than a thirdIn one season, unless deliberately renovating.TIMING RULEFlowers on old wood → prune after floweringFlowers on new wood → prune in late winterPruning at the wrong time removes this year's flowersClean, sharp tools. A ragged cut heals slowly and invites disease intothe wound.Pruninglearnposters.com
Pruning — printable life skills wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

Pruning, step by step

Pruning directs growth; it is not tidying.

  1. Remove the three Ds firstDead, damaged and diseased wood. Always, at any time of year.
  2. Then crossing branchesAnything rubbing will wound and admit disease.
  3. Open the centreAir and light through the middle reduce fungal problems.
  4. Cut just above an outward budAt a slight angle away from it. Growth follows the bud's direction.
  5. Never remove more than a thirdIn one season, unless deliberately renovating.

Timing rule

  • Flowers on old wood → prune after flowering
  • Flowers on new wood → prune in late winter
  • Pruning at the wrong time removes this year's flowers

Clean, sharp tools. A ragged cut heals slowly and invites disease into the wound.

Questions about the Pruning poster

What’s on the Pruning poster?
5 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. Pruning directs growth; it is not tidying. Remove the three Ds first — Dead, damaged and diseased wood. Always, at any time of y…; Then crossing branches — Anything rubbing will wound and admit disease.; Open the centre — Air and light through the middle reduce fungal problems.; Cut just above an outward bud — At a slight angle away from it. Growth follows the bu…; Never remove more than a third — In one season, unless deliberately renovating.. Clean, sharp tools. A ragged cut heals slowly and invites disease into the wound.
Who is the Pruning poster for?
Pruning belongs to the Practical skills section rather than to a school year, because life skills is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning garden can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Pruning poster?
Prune spring-flowering shrubs after they flower. Summer-flowering ones in late winter. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Pruning belongs on the wall where that life skills work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Pruning?
Plant Pests, Composting and Growing in Containers sit alongside Pruning in the Practical skills section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Plant PestsCompostingGrowing in Containers
Is the Pruning poster free to download and print?
Yes. Pruning downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Practical skills section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Pruning poster print at?
Pruning is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Pruning loses nothing.Printing guide

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