Pruning deciduous (leaf-losing) plants while they're dormant (have stopped growing until spring) is the best approach. And even though I have until spring to prune them, I prefer doing it now, right after they lose their leaves and while the weather is still pleasant.

In the meantime, and as I round up my pruning implements for the job at hand, I feel a little like Paul Bunyan, a fictional lumberjack who was always ready for a wood-cutting challenge.

Paul Bunyan was created in 1906 by newspaper reporter James MacGillivray as a way to put a name and face on the tall tales that the lumberjacks of his time were telling.

Paul Bunyan's claim to fame, you see, was his superhuman size and strength. Legend has it, for instance, that he created the Grand Canyon by dragging a huge ax. Then he made Mount Hood by pilling up rocks to put out an immense campfire.

So you get the idea, right? I was feeling worthy of tackling on any wood-cutting challenge put before me.

Even so, certain rules of thumb apply. For example, I only prune deciduous plants to improve their shapes, to safeguard and rejuvenate older specimens and to keep from bumping my head on low-hanging branches.

By the way, certain flowering trees and shrubs -- such as forsythias, spireas and lilacs -- are best pruned immediately after they bloom. Otherwise, flower buds may be inadvertently removed. So know your plant's blooming habits beforehand.

Then again, regardless of the time of year, I immediately remove storm-damaged, dead and diseased wood from deciduous plants to keep them healthy.

Pruning techniques

I remove thinner twigs and branches -- up to a quarter inch -- with hand pruners. For thicker branches -- up to 2 inches -- I use a wood-cutting hand saw. Heavy branches, on the other hand, are taken down with a gasoline-powered chain saw.

In every case, though, my goal is to leave clean wounds that heal disease-free, and that's why I use three saw cuts to bring down heavy branches. To do otherwise would risk injuring a tree by stripping away healthy bark from its trunk when the limb breaks free.

To remove heavy branches, I make an initial saw cut about a foot from the tree's trunk -- beneath the target branch -- but a third of the way through the branch. Then I make a second saw cut -- several inches beyond the first cut -- through the branch from the branch's top. The third and last saw cut removes the remaining foot-long, lightweight stub in a way that doesn't damage a trunk's bark.

Finally, to make certain that all pruning wounds heal properly, I spray them with a fungicide that's labeled for plants . These products were unavailable during Paul Bunyan's time, but I'm certain he would approve.

This week in the garden

Chipper shredders are the best way to make short work out of brush piles.

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