Pruning would be easy if we could treat all plants the same. Armed with some basic knowledge, we can prune most woody plants with some degree of confidence. But even experienced gardeners may scratch their heads at the prospect of pruning a conifer. Conifers, cone-bearing plants with needles or scales for leaves, must be pruned differently from broad-leaved plants. The two tribes of trees have very different ways of growing. Conifers are poorly provided with dormant growing points in their older stems. If a branch is lost, the plant may not send out a new one in its place. Instead, it just climbs a little closer to the sun and puts new branches there.
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