Wear gloves and safety glasses
Use clean, sharp pruning shears or loppers
Remove dead, damaged, or diseased branches first
Cut branches back to a healthy bud or side branch
Trim crossing or rubbing branches
Thin crowded areas to improve airflow
Shape the shrub by cutting evenly around the outside
Avoid cutting more than one-third of the shrub at one time
Make cuts at a slight angle
Remove suckers and low unwanted growth
Cut back overgrown shrubs gradually over multiple seasons
Clean and disinfect tools after use