I prune excessive extension growth in spring and summer. So this is above the fruit. Just removing excess growth but retaining enough leaves to sweeten the crop. Then after harvest I shape the tree up as needed, usually not a lot. I do very little pruning in winter. The exception is renewal pruning. Then I may need to head back in winter to force new growth down low. My biggest issue is wanting fruit on a new tree ASAP at the expense of forming a proper tree. Renewal pruning starts early by forcing a bushy tree in the early years and doing adequate pruning each year after to keep good wood down low on the tree. So my usual methods may leave a lot to be desired.

The latest research shows that the best time to prune roses in California is during the summer growing season. Contrary to conventional wisdom and popular belief. Roses should be pruned as you would any flowering shrub. After each flush of bloom, prune out the spent flowering canes and skinny canes back to where they're larger than a finger. If you do this after each flush of bloom, you won't have a bunch of scraggly canes that need serious doctoring come winter. And we don't prune back roses, at any time, to short nubbins. That's a practice that evolved back east and in the midwest where winter cold and snows forced rose gardeners to cut their roses back hard so that they could cover them with piles of mulch and burlap and god-knows-what-all-else. We don't need to do that. Again, prune roses just back to good finger-size canes, usually pruning roses no more than 1/3 to 1/2 depending on their vigor. We should have BIG rose BUSHES, just as we have big BUSHES. Also, the fact is that in most of California, our roses don't actually go fully dormant. We read about this in gardening magazines every year -- "ways to make your roses go dormant" (cut off water, fertilizer, leave the hips on, etc.). If you know about the genetics of modern roses, you know that one of the primary parents is Rosa chinensis. And R. chinensis is a subtropical to tropical species that is pretty much evergreen in the wild. But there's a reality here: you've asked your question because you probably haven't done your summer pruning as noted above and you're ready to go in and do some winter "dormant" pruning of all that scraggliness. If you can't find a good calendar for pruning for your area (it varies), simply watch your rose bushes. As soon as you see even the slightest bit of bud swelling and/or new growth, have at it. Just be careful. Joe

I'm in Sunset zone 17, 25 miles east from SF, so we get a few more 'near-frost' days than the City but it's still very temperate (in the summer we're at the edge of the fog belt). This winter with the wild swings from warm moist rains to dry cold spells, the leaves have barely fallen off the liquidambers yet the magnolia trees are already in full bloom in most places -- normally they flower in mid-January. Last week I just cleaned up the yellowing leaves off the clumping daylilies, only to discover vigorous new growth already pushing up. The ranunculus and freesias have already started putting out lots of growth and they will bloom in another month unless we get a big January chill. The weekend after Thanksgiving was perfect gardening weather -- dry and in the low 60's. I got a head start then on pruning, weeding and planting some container plants I had been holding for the start of the rainy season. With a cottage style garden, I have so many different kinds of plants, cleanup is pretty much year-round. But I figure that's the price of having a garden that stays evergreen and flowers all year-round, too, so it evens out. The REALLY important thing is to remember that this is Sluggo time -- those snails are multiplying even as we type, lol!!!

And follow the standard rules. if your plant is in a medium that is different from what it's to going into remove it all and only use the stuff in the new pot, or ground. No matter how much better the soil on the roots is the tree would rather have the crappy soil so all of the roots are in the same stuff. Google bath tub effect for more information. You can use the soil that was in the roots to top dress. Do not amend the dug up soil. Unless your willing to dig very deep and amend every single inch of soil that the tree will eventually use. All the way to the max drip line. Even then you will have to be aware of the rain and watering so you don't get the bath tub effect. Well worth it if you live where it's dry and have poor quality soil. If your interested in this please post a new thread here for advice first so we can help you not make mistakes. I really want to help people do this as I'm confident if done right will be a significant boost to the tree. More than any fertilizer or watering program. Much more. It's an extreme amount of work you want to get right the first time. Leave the soil as is no matter how crappy if you don't want to amend it ALL as deep and wide as your plant wants and top dress once it's planted. Much easier and the worms will eventually mix it for you. Always have the roots point out into the new soil. Cut off all circling roots. Water well when establishing but don't go crazy. Create a ring around the tree made of dirt to make sure the water goes down and not out those first few weeks. The ring will disappear on its own. If it's hot and sunny, shade the tree until it's established. Try not to leave fruit on it while transplanting. It's just not worth stressing the tree while it established itself in its new home if it's going into the ground. If it's potted the tree will not be as stressed and can support fruit if big enough. if I think of anything else I'll add it to the list.