Internet launch–“The Basics Of Pruning” by John Schulz and Dekie Hicks

The Basics of Pruning

By John Schulz and Dekie Hicks

The Basics of Pruning is the product of a 5-year collaboration between John Schulz and Dekie Hicks. John has more than 40 years of experience in landscape maintenance and got his wife Dekie started on pruning plants for pleasure. In addition, it is Dekie who has the expertise in book design.

The book presents concepts for successful pruning projects.

“I didn’t want the book to be just a list of plants with little pictures,” said Schulz. “That would become boring quickly. Instead, I wanted to develop the concepts of what happens to a plant when it’s pruned. I wanted to present information that would apply to many different plant species. When we first got the ability to produce a full color, well-illustrated book at an affordable price, we just had to do the pruning book.”

Order Now–Free Shipping for a Limited Time. (continental U.S.)Want an Autograph?–email your instructions to Wheredepony@gmail.com

The idea of writing a pruning book was an accident. In 2008, John was finishing up the book Requiem for a Redneck. Other authors encouraged him to start a blog. He worked hard developing a topic and finally came up with the idea of “Johntheplantman.com” in which he would answer questions about gardening.

The blog was launched in 2009 and the first article was titled “The Basics of Pruning.” John used pictures of a jade plant to show what happens when you prune a plant.

This article became popular. Over the years, as the site gathered more than 200 articles, the stats showed a steady interest in that first article. This let us know that the interest in pruning was world-wide. “I also spend a lot of time answering gardening questions. Everywhere I go, it seems people ask me something about their yard and the plants and trees in it. So Dekie and I knew that interest in this topic was widespread.”

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The Basics of Pruning is easy to read and the instructions and concepts are illustrated with lots of full-color photographs, making it an excellent field guide.

You will learn how to shape plants, why the plants respond as they do, and when to prune to get maximum effect. This is a good field guide for hobbyists and landscapers. There is a chapter on making your own bonsai plant. It is also an attention-getting coffee table book. Want it personally autographed? Send your request to Wheredepony@gmail.com

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Pruning plants can be boring, routine yard maintenance: “Just cut them suckers back!” OR, plant shaping may be viewed as an art form, an enjoyable pastime, or an avocation, with the end result being plants that are beautiful, interesting sculptures. This book introduces you to the concepts behind pruning many common plants and trees, provides plenty of examples and lots of large color photographs, and gives you ideas to experiment with. Be careful, though! Pruning may become addictive.

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As an introductory offer for our internet launch of “The Basics of Printing” for a limited time,—Free Shipping and a free copy of our brochure “The Number One Question I Get Asked About Bonsai is, How Do I Keep it live?” (free shipping continental U.S.)

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