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The reasons for pruning are: (1) To secure a desired form or height of the plant; (2) To remove injured, diseased, or dead branches; (3) To renovate or rejuvenate old plants; (4) To maintain a balance between root growth and top growth (as shown in the operations of transplanting); (5) To encourage the production of an abundance of flowers; (6) To encourage the production of a few large flowers; (7) To improve or modify the natural form of the plant for some specific reason such as in topiary work and hedge work. Pruning, however, is only a phase in the care of plants and must be accompanied by constant good cultivation, feeding, and management of plants. It is only through the process of intelligent pruning that shrubs especially can be maintained in a definite and natural condition of growth and also kept at a correct height to avoid in many instances the outgrowing or overpowering of the design for which they were selected to become a part. Many incorrect ideas have become prevalent concerning the process of pruning, and the applicationof these incorrect methods often causes a slowing up or incorrect development not only in the growing habits of the shrubs but in the quality and the quantity of the flowers produced.
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