Traditionally, winter pruning is saved for the coldest and windiest weekend in February. But not this year.

With unseasonably mild temperatures predicted for today, now is a good time to begin pruning fruit and some ornamental trees and shrubs. These plants are fully dormant and have been so for several weeks. There is nothing wrong with getting an early start on this annual event. Here are some tips for getting started with giving your landscape plants a much needed “buzz.”

For fruit trees, prune older trees first. Remove branches that are dead, weak or have not produced fruit for several years. Likewise, to allow sunlight to penetrate into the tree, remove branches that crisscross through the middle as well as branches that are touching one another.

For younger plants, structural pruning may need to be done to build strong, healthy trees. Select the most vigorous, upright growing branch for the leader. Then, select two to four branches that form wide angles with the trunk for permanent scaffold branches. They should be at least 6 inches apart, and the lowest branch should be at least 18 inches to 24 inches above the ground. Make sure they are evenly distributed around the tree and are not all coming from the same side. Remove all the other lateral branches at the trunk leaving only the two to four scaffold branches.

Certain ornamental trees and shrubs, such as flowering crabapple, honeylocust, ash and oaks can all be pruned. Silver, Sugar, Amur, Norway and Hedge Maples, black walnut, pecan, birch, mulberry, and Osage orange (hedge tree) all have a tendency to bleed when pruned.

If you have ever pruned these trees, you will understand what I am talking about. Though bleeding may look as if it would cause considerable damage to the tree, it does not. However, many people find the oozing sap undesirable. To minimize the sap flow, prune now, when temperatures are below freezing. Be careful not to prune when temperatures are below 20 degrees because damage to the woody tissue may result.

Likewise, shrubs that flower on new wood or stems that grow this spring, and shrubs planted for their foliage and not their bloom, can be pruned now. Examples include Annabelle and PeeGee hydrangeas, Anthony Waterer spirea, shrub dogwoods, barberry, burning bush, smokebush, sumac, ninebark and purpleleaf sandcherry plum.

Shrubs such as mock orange, potentillas, roses and weigela that flower later in the year on new and old wood, can be lightly pruned now before growth starts or heavily pruned after blooming has ended later this spring.

Contrary to this, now is not the time to prune spring flowering trees and shrubs. Plants such as lilac, forsythia, azalia, rhododendron, magnolia, flowering dogwood, chokecherry, flowering plum or cherry, and Juneberry all bloom on old wood. Pruning now will remove the existing dormant buds, decreasing the floral display this spring.