Gardener, broadcaster and writer John Cushniegives some useful tips for pruning
•Keep tools sharp and clean. Blunt tools are dangerous and cause ragged cuts on plants, which can admit disease. Dirty blades can spread disease from plant to plant.
•First take out dead, diseased and damaged parts. Stand back often and consider what you are doing.
•Cut old wood back to the base of a plant. New, vigorous shoots will rise up and take their place.
•When reducing the length of stems, prune back to just above a healthy bud that is facing the way you want the shoot to grow. Usually it's an outward-facing bud. When you prune, angle the cut to slope away from the bud, so that rainwater doesn't run into it.
•Prune deciduous trees and shrubs in winter, when they are dormant, except for Prunus (including cherries), which should be done in summer.
•Most conifers do not like hard pruning, and, if they are overgrown, never cut back into the bare wood. The exceptions are juniper, yew and thuja, which will produce fresh growth from bare wood.