Know When to Prune: Most trees and shrubs can only be pruned at certain times of year, usually when they are dormant. Shrubs that flower in the spring should only be pruned after the flowers fade, while shrubs that flower later in the summer should only be pruned in early spring.

Use Proper Tools: Pros recommend pruning shears with curved blades. They do less damage to branch ends. Use lopping shears for branches a quarter-inch to an inch thick. Over an inch thick, use a bow saw.

Follow Proper Techniques: First, thin out dead, crossed and misdirected branches, cutting those back to the base. Then, head back the branches as needed to shape, always cutting just above a bud on the outside of the branch to encourage outward growth.

Choose a Pruning Style: For low maintenance, you'd choose natural pruning which relies mainly on thinning to keep a shrub or tree healthy and to let it grow in natural directions with minimal shaping. Formal pruning also uses thinning techniques to keep the plant healthy, but gets to be more work heading back branches as often as needed to maintain a shape it wouldn't naturally assume.