Pruning your garden trees regularly will keep them looking good.

They will reward you 1000% next year with much better fruit or an abundance of bloom along with stronger growth.

The lack of annual pruning causes flowering and fruit trees to produce small fruit and a poor show of flowers.

Pruned trees are stronger and their branches are less likely to break making the trees safer so there is less likelihood of a branch falling and causing damage.

Required tools are gloves, knife, saw and secateurs.

You should take a good look at the tree and imagine in your mind how you want it to look when you have finished pruning it.

The trees branches form the main shape branching out from the trunk which forms the structure. You will need to leave this central structure and shape the tree around this.

Branches that grow parallel to one another will need thinning by removing the weakest of these branches that cross over each other enabling the others to grow and develop, leaving only thoses branches that improve the overall shape of the tree.

Always cut out branches that are growing inward, toward the center of the tree, these will only clutter up the shape of the tree.

Stand back and check for areas where the branches look crowded and then apply the guidelines to thin out those overgrown areas.

Tall trees may need reducing in height and can be cut down to the required level, removing the main leader first and then shaping the tree according to how you would like to look.

Trees prefer to be pruned during the winter as the sap has stopped flowing and the trees are in their dormant season having lost their leaves.

Winter is the best time of year to do prune trees when all the leaves have fallen off and the trees have gone into dormancy.

You should always cut away any dead or dying wood, this can be removed at any time of the year, although if you do it during the growing period you should always paint the cut ends.

A container will be needed to dip the blades of your tools into a solution of household beach, the sap from the cut branches can carry disease which will in turn be passed onto the next tree you prune.

You should find a “collar” at the base of the branches, this should be left behind when you have cut off the branch so as to allow the cut too heal over naturally.

Any shade trees that are getting too large can be reshaped and thinned, by reshaping the tree you will benefit during the summer, be careful you do not cut the tree too low or you will not get the shade you need.

Always collect the fallen leaves and any fallen fruit before you start pruning your trees, as these may be caring disease, and destroy them. This will give your trees a cleaner start to the next season.