It’s a myth that George Washington chopped down that poor cherry tree at age 6.

It’s also a myth that I saw it all happen. I was across the Potomac at Gadsby’s Tavern enjoying a Bordeaux with Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.

As I sit here rewriting history, it is important to note that this persistent parable of American mythology has led to the refined art of selective pruning practices.

We prune to maintain plant health, improve its appearance, encourage flower and fruit development and control its growth. Plants get sick and need surgery just like people and pets.

Pinching is simple pruning done on annuals, perennials and on vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers and squash. Pinch off a bud with your thumb and forefinger.

Heading means cutting farther back on the shoot than you would for pinching. Use hand-held pruners.

Shearing is shaping a hedge or a bush. Use a hand-held or electric hedge shear.

Thinning reduces the bulk of a plant or tree by removing an entire stem or branch. Use hand-held pruners, loppers, or a pruning saw.

The best time to prune most plants is during winter or early spring. Removing damaged, dead or infected branches can be done at any time of year.

By pruning in late winter, fresh wounds are exposed for only a short time before new growth begins the wound sealing process. Also, it's easier to prune without leaves obscuring your view.

Every January I prune my hybrid teas, floribundas, and grandifloras down to 12 inches high. I remove any infected, damaged or touching canes and any canes that are smaller in diameter than a pencil. I open the center of the plant for light and air circulation and use bypass, not anvil, shears for a cleaner cut.

When removing spent roses, cut down to the first five-leaflet set because they are more mature. Immature leaflets only have three leaves. As with other plants with buds, cut at a 45-degree outward facing angle about one-quarter inch above a bud.

Pruning times vary for different plants and trees. Below is a brief, best-time-of-year pruning guide that I compiled from Arborday.org, horticulturalist Dr. Lee Reich and UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences:

Late fall: bearded iris, daylily, lavender, penstemon, peony and salvia.

Mid-winter: apple, camellia, cherry, dogwood, elm, fir, oak and plum.

Late winter/early spring: butterfly bush, crape myrtle, cypress, gardenia, honeysuckle, juniper, roses, and wisteria.

Late spring/early summer: azalea, forsythia, hydrangea, lilac, mock orange, ornamental pear, pine, rhododendron, spruce and star magnolia.

Spring/mid-summer: birch and hedges.

For overgrown shrubs, cut them down to 12 inches for a fresh start. This ninja-style pruning is called rejuvenation and requires more courage than freeway driving.

To prune trees, remove suckers that grow from the base; limbs that sag or are dead, diseased or injured; water sprout stems that grow vertically from main branches; branches that cross or touch others. I rarely prune more than 5 percent of a tree a year.

Use a three-cut technique to remove large branches to prevent the branch’s weight from tearing the bark. Make the first cut 12 inches from the trunk, undercutting one-third of the way through the branch. Just outside the first cut, saw from the top and remove the branch. Make the final cut near, but not flush, to the trunk.

For really tall trees, use a skilled climber who has scaled Mount Everest and has proper equipment and insurance.

Some horticultural scientists say we don’t have to worry about protecting pruning cuts with wound seal paint since it doesn’t really prevent insect or disease damage. However, if I see any hint of a problem, I’m using a sealant.

As a general guideline, use hand shears for cutting branches up to one-quarter inch in diameter. Lopping shears for branches up to 1 ½ inches. Pruning saws are for branches greater than 1 ½ inches. Pole pruners are for 1 inch branches beyond arm’s reach. Use hedge shears for shaping hedges. Pruning shears cut up to three-quarters inch in diameter. Use bow saws for cutting branches over 1 inch in diameter.

To avoid the spread of disease, wipe your pruning tools afterwards with rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or a 10 percent bleach solution.

Then there’s the type of pruning to turn your hedges into the shape of a spiral, swan, dachshund, a 1949 Volvo and other fine garden art. Think of Chia pets, but on a much grander scale. There is no cure for topiary addiction.

Did you know that, according to Monticello.org, Thomas Jefferson grew 330 vegetable varieties and 170 fruit varieties in his Monticello gardens and orchards? He was also a wine connoisseur.

Schmidt is a Poway resident with over 40 years of gardening experience.

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