IT'S TIME TO PRUNE FOR SPRING GROWTH.

Byline: JANE GATES Gardening

SANTA CLARITA - Now that we're through the holidays, it's time to start working on the winter garden.

With deciduous (leaf-dropping) trees and shrubs dormant, it's the best time to prune them. Sap flows slowly so the impact of cuts is lessened. Trees do not heal as we do. They do not regenerate lost cells, which means a cut is permanent.

A tree will grow new shoots to compensate for loss, but it will not grow back a limb. There are two lessons to learn from this. One, don't cut more than necessary. Making too many cuts often encourages a tree to send out way too many weak, whiplike shoots to compensate for the loss. Two, you have some control over the shape of a tree when you prune judiciously.

Chose trees wisely in accordance with their natural size and shape. You will not be successful at trying to prune a naturally broad tree to keep it narrow or a tall one to keep it short. It will be hard on both you and the tree.

But you can guide a tree's natural growth with pruning. Encourage a tall tree by pruning out weaker limbs competing for the main straight shoot while the tree is young. This is called ``single-heading.''

Most fruit trees need pruning while young. Trees such as peach, apricot and plum fruit best if kept stubby by cutting back long thin branches. Prune them to be open in the middle - vase shaped - so the sun can reach fruit in the center of the tree.

All trees handle our enthusiastic winds better if dead, crossing and weak branches are removed. Of course, after the recent winds, many a tree has ``pruned'' itself. (If you have a tree with snapped limbs, cleanly cut or saw the ragged break closer to the trunk to avoid disease or infestation.)

Tree pruning is a complicated subject and worth consulting experts - especially with mature trees - or researching in depth since different trees have different needs.

Deciduous shrubs also benefit from being cut back in the winter. Perennials that die back to the ground can be cleaned up and dried foliage composted, or the foliage can be left for frost protection until later in the season.

Make sure it's cleaned up by spring, however, before insects and rodents decide to use it for homes and nesting material. Plants like buddleia (butterfly plant) can be pruned right down to a foot or two above the ground so they will grow about 8 feet tall next year. If left unpruned, they will easily reach 12 feet tall.