Summer is a good time to prune plants that have bloomed in spring, especially trees and shrubs, if you have not done so immediately after the blossoming in spring.  If you do this now, there is still time for growth to ripen and set buds for next year’s bloom display if done now.  Regular pruning of any misplaced branches, dead or otherwise obviously diseased/damaged wood, shold be done as soon as noticed, anytime.  A guideline for getting bushy growth on Abutilons is that if pruned during active growth, they will immediately replace the wood removed from the pruning effort with vigorous growht and abundant blooms almost immediately now.  This is a great way to clean up a leggy plant and invigorate it with strong new young growth.  Abutilons bloom on new wood, so any resulting new growth will bloom abundantly.  Remember to water well and also fertilize regularly to provide the nuturients that will be needed for all that new growth.

Pinching tip growth can be done on all kinds of plants to make them more compact.  Chrysanthemums are a prime example.  If left untouched, they become leggy and flop over.  However, if  pinched regularly (every 5-6 leaves of growth, then they become more compact and make more stems, which also increases the amound ot blossoms you get later in fall.Pinching tip growth works for any plant.  Trees, and shrubs, bushy perennials.  vines, many succulents

Fruit trees benefit very much from summer pruning.  Especially if you practise summer pruning to reduce size of tree.  Pruning now will control excessive growth and make the plant bloom younger, as well as making it more compact.  Summer pruning of fruit trees also reduces size of the tree.  You will not need ladders, etc. if you restrit height of tree when it is a sapling.  And not to mention that pruning during the growing season allows pruning cuts to heal over before winter.  Several things happen when you summer prune a fruittree.  reduction of mature dimension of tree, height and width of canopy.  You encourage earlier/younger bearing since tree growth is directed into fruiting wood, rather than larger tree size.   All pruning cuts will heal over by winter and thus help to prevent disease and insects from entering the plant through open wounds.

Basic tips for removing the old flowering wood of flowering season plants is that you reinvigorate the plant(pruning stimulates growth) and you get much more wood which will bear next years flowers in abundance.  (if you did not prune, then you get some growth which flowers sparingly compared to a regularly pruned plant)

Aftercare of the plants pruned should consist of good cultural practises.  Watering well those pruned plants will insure that resulting new growth will flush out vigorously.  Fetilizing is also beneficial to provide nutrients to support all that new growth.  Remember to water the plant well before application, and well again after application so as not to burn the roots.

If your fruit trees have matured their fruit crop, then now is the time to clean out the old fruits that may still be attached to the tree, and also to do a general clean up of the area around the tree to eliminate hiding places for insects and diseases.  Pick up fallen fruit and dispose of it.

 A general cleaning up of faded bloom stalks, dead leaf and stem debris / cutting out old or damaged wood is a wise practise.

Pinch plants like blueberries to get them more compact.  This will be of most benefit on sucker growth to prevent legginess and make the plant more compact.