This essential practical guide aims to take the mystery out of pruning - a gardening task which many gardeners mistakenly believe to be difficult and complicated. It simplifies the job, showing that the correct pruning and training of ornamental and fruiting plants is both easy and also has many rewards, including improved flower and fruit production, healthier plants, improved plant shape, and a tidier garden. Opening with a helpful introduction, which covers basic principles and techniques, useful tools and equipment, and safety considerations, the chapters that follow are arranged by plant type, covering trees, shrubs, climbers and wall shrubs, and roses. Each chapter includes practical advice, illustrated with step-by-step photographic sequences and artworks, on the initial training of the plant type in question; how to prune the plant once it is established; and how to undertake renovation pruning. There is also information on specialized pruning and training techniques, such as pruning for ornamental stems, pleaching, pollarding and coppicing. An invaluable A-Z Directory of Ornamental Plants looks at the pruning requirements of a wide range of species on a plant-by-plant basis, explaining when and how to prune. A Fruit section contains chapters on pruning and training tree fruits, including hardy apples and pears, and tender tree fruits, such as olive trees and citrus fruits. There is also a chapter on soft fruit, which covers cane fruit, such as blackberries and raspberries, and bush fruit, including blackcurrants and gooseberries. The books is lavishly illustrated with over 700 inspirational and practical photographs as well as more than 270 specially-commissioned artworks and illustrations. All techniques and projects are shown in close-up step-by-step photography and diagrams to ensure that the tasks are absolutely clear and easy to follow, and making this the only book on the subject that any gardener will ever need.