Penn State Extension will offer "Pruning for Professionals" on Monday, March 23, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Masonic Village Freemasons Cultural Center, 1 Masonic Drive, Elizabethtown.

The workshop is designed to build a foundation in pruning shrubs and trees in the landscape. It will begin with a classroom session covering pruning theory, terminology, and plants' biological responses to pruning. Participants will explore how plant structure and growth patterns inform best practices and maintenance techniques. Following lunch, the workshop will move outdoors for a hands-on session, where attendees will apply classroom concepts directly in the field.

Some of the topics that will be covered are techniques to renovate and maintain evergreen and deciduous shrubs; proper methods for pruning trees to reduce the potential for decay; differences between removal, reduction, and heading cuts; how to perform various types of tree and shrub pruning; strategies for thinning out flowering trees; and selection and use of proper pruning tools. Participants will also learn best practices to meet the American National Standards Institute A300 Part 1 National Tree Care Standards and Z133 Safety Standards.

Attendees who participate in the workshop can earn 5.5 credits from the International Society of Arboriculture.

There is a fee, and participants are encouraged to register by Thursday, March 19. For more information or to register, visit https://extension.psu.edu/pruning-for-professionals.