2torial #0900: Learn2 Prune Trees and Small Bushes (Continued). Get formal! Formal hedges are the ones that are perfectly shaped. They're the ones you can usually find in the yard of avid gardener or on estates of people who pay someone to come and maintain them--because they need lots of maintaining. Most formal hedges are evergreens as well, and they require year-round maintenance. Formal headings need constant heading of the tips. Constant heading creates a hollow center without light and air--which is a cause of disease. Formal hedges look good but deep down, they're damaged. Technique: Think gumdrops. When trimming formal hedges, keep in mind that the sun shines from above, so the top of a bush will shade the bottom. To work with this condition, shape the bushes a little wider at the bottom. To create formal hedges, first prune the bush. Do a few thinning cuts on the top of the bush. Each time you do it you'll need to do more thinning cuts at the top. And each time you cut, there should be more growth inside the next section of the bush. Cut into the bush at this new growth and within a few weeks you'll have new green growth. You'll have to trim that new growth! Use shearing shears, which look like giant scissors. Walk around your bushes and cut off the new green growth, or halfway into the new growth until everything looks even. Now it's time for you to sit back and relax in your garden, with the lovely view of your perfectly pruned trees.  -end- Learn More! or All steps at once (printable version)