Use pruning shears for thinner branches and a fine-toothed pruning saw for thicker ones. Leave about 3 to 5 shoots per branch. Finish cutting on an outward-facing shoot. This way, the new branch will grow outward, not inward. Leave the outward-growing branches and prune off the inward-growing ones. This will help increase air and light circulation. Summertime is the best time to remove the suckers, but if your plant is producing a lot of them, you will need to repeat the process more often. Once in the late spring and once in the early fall is a good rule of thumb. Use the same method as you did before to remove the suckers and water sprouts. Don't let these grow and develop. They'll just suck up the water and nutrients that could otherwise go to your tree. Once your tree enters its third year, it is well-established and doesn't need as much heavy pruning. A light prune in the late winter after all danger of frost has passed is all you need. Keep up with the suckers and remove them as you see them. Cut the dead or diseased branches a few inches/centimeters below the diseased portion. The exposed wood should look healthy.
++++++++++
One-sentence summary -- Cut the branches back by about a third. Remove suckers and water sprouts at least once per year. Remove dead or damaged branches starting from the third winter.

Familiarize yourself with the words that will appear in the spelling bee. Circle any words that seem difficult or any you don't recognize so you know where to focus most of your attention. Make sure you practice spelling each of the words from the list until you master them. Work on word lists made for your grade level before moving on to lists made for higher levels. Many regional and national spelling bees don't have set word lists, but you can find frequently used words through Merriam-Webster and online study sources. Find words that you find challenging and focus your time on learning them. Start with words in your grade level before studying higher-level words. Spell It! From Merriam-Webster lists over 1,000 words that are commonly used in bees along with tips and tricks on how to remember their spelling. You can find the words here: http://myspellit.com/. Look on online flashcard websites like Quizlet for study options that other people preparing for spelling bees have made. Most online dictionaries offer an audio option where you can hear each word. Type the word into the search bar on the website and click on the small speaker icon to hear the word. This is how the announcer at the spelling bee will say the word. Hearing the word while looking at the spelling will help you recognize how the letters are vocalized. If you're familiar with phonetic writing, you can find the correct pronunciation in the dictionary. Break your workload into manageable chunks of words to focus on. Pair difficult words with ones you're familiar with to give yourself a break between challenging spellings. Work until you master how to spell each word on your list for that given day. Revisit words after a week to see if you can spell them correctly again. Increase or decrease the number of words you practice depending on what works for you. Pretend you're standing in front of a microphone just like you would at the actual spelling bee. When your friend or parent reads off the word, ask any questions you have, such as the definition or country of origin, or have them repeat the word. Practice spelling each word aloud. Having someone read the words for you helps prepare you for being on stage as well as work on spelling under pressure. Make sure they pronounce the words correctly when they announce the words.
++++++++++
One-sentence summary -- Review the word list if you have one. Look for common spelling bee words online if a list isn't provided. Listen to the pronunciation of each word online so you hear how it sounds. Practice spelling 15-20 words every day. Have someone announce the words so you can practice spelling them out loud.

Remove the -ir ending from the infinitive and replace it with the appropriate ending to talk about present actions. The -ir endings are -o, -es, -e, -imos, is, and -en. For example: Yo abro: I open. Tu abres: You [informal] open. El/ella/usted abre: He/she opens; you [formal] open. Nosotros abrimos: We open. Vosotros abris: You all [informal] open. Ellos/ellas/ustedes abren: They/you all [formal] open. When you're discussing an action that doesn't extend at all into the present, the preterite tense is appropriate. Depending on your subject pronoun, you will replace the -ir with -i, -iste, -io, -imos, -isteis, or -ieron. Yo abri: I opened. Tu abriste: You [informal] opened. El/ella/usted abrio: He/she/you [formal] opened. Nosotros abrimos: We opened. Vosotros abristeis: You all [informal] opened. Ellos/ellas/ustedes abrieron: They/you all [formal] opened. When you're talking about something that happens habitually, or that was interrupted, conjugate your verb in the imperfect tense. For an -ir verb, this means replacing the -ir with -ia, ias, ia, -iamos, iais, or -ian. Yo abria: I was opening. Tu abrias: You [informal] were opening. El/ella/usted abria: He/she was opening; you [formal] were opening. Nosotros abriamos: We were opening. Vosotros abriais: You all [informal] were opening. Ellos/ellas/ustedes abrian: They/you all [formal] were opening. In Spanish, the conditional tense is used to describe actions that might happen, or that are dependent on some other condition to happen. Regular -ir verbs are conjugated using the same endings as the imperfect tense, added to the end of the infinitive rather than the verb stem. Yo abriria: I would open [if]. Tu abririas: You [informal] would open [if]. El/ella/usted abriria: He/she/you [formal] would open [if]. Nosotros abririamos: We would open [if]. Vosotros abririais: You all [informal] would open [if]. Ellos/ellas/ustedes abririan: They/you all [formal] would open [if]. Add an ending to the full infinitive to conjugate regular -ir verbs in future tense, just as you did with the conditional tense. Use the endings -e, -as, -a, -emos, -eis, and -an. Yo abrire: I will open. Tu abriras: You [informal] will open. El/ella/usted abrira: He/she/you [formal] will open. Nosotros abriremos: We will open. Vosotros abrireis: You all [informal] will open. Ellos/ellas/ustedes abriran: They/you all [formal] will open.
++++++++++
One-sentence summary --
Use the present tense to describe actions currently happening. Switch to the preterite tense if the action happened in the past. Move to the imperfect tense if a past action continues to happen. Add the imperfect ending to the infinitive to express the conditional tense. Pick the future tense for talking about actions that will happen.