Pruning season is in full bloom

Prune shrubs that put on a lot of growth this year as needed to keep them in the proper scale for your garden.

Growth is mostly hardened off by now, so there should be minimal new growth for summer pruning. The mostly cool and rainy season thus far may extend the more active growing season.

Try using a pair of hand pruners instead of an electric hedge clipper to create a more natural look by making individual cuts at different heights throughout the shrubs. For a more formal look, make cuts at the same height. Prune right above a set of leaves to help hide the cuts. Careful pruning leaves the plants smaller but not looking sheared.

Remove dead wood as necessary.

• Prune out water sprouts (vigorous shoots on the inside of the tree and on the trunk) and suckers (vigorous shoots growing from the base of the plant). Crabapples and hawthorns tend to send out lots of water sprouts and can benefit from this type of pruning.

• Keep pruning your espaliered plants as they send out new growth to keep them looking crisp. You should expect to trim the espaliered plants several times over the course of the summer to maintain the best appearance.

If the new growth at the tips of your pine's branches has turned brown, a disease called Diplodia tip blight may be the problem. It is too late to spray fungicides now, as infection occurs in the spring.

Prune out dead tips in dry weather to reduce the spread of infection. Disinfect pruners between plants when pruning out diseased branches. I use Lysol disinfectant.

• Tim Johnson is director of horticulture at Chicago Botanic Garden, chicagobotanic.org.