Mi madre quiere podar ese arbusto antes de que crezca más.

Podar means to prune: to cut back branches, leaves, or parts of a plant so it grows better or stays under control.

So podar un arbusto is more specific than just to cut a shrub. It suggests gardening/maintenance, not simply chopping it.

Spanish often omits subject pronouns because the verb form and context usually make the subject clear.

Here, mi madre already tells us who is doing the action, so ella is unnecessary:

• Mi madre quiere... = My mother wants...
• Ella quiere... would only be added for emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

In standard modern Spanish, possessive adjectives like mi, tu, su, nuestro normally go directly before the noun:

• mi madre
• tu casa
• su libro

You do not usually say la mi madre in standard Spanish.

Madre mía exists, but it is different. It is usually emphatic or expressive, and very often it means something like oh my God / goodness me, depending on context. It is not the normal neutral way to say my mother in a sentence like this.

After querer, Spanish uses the infinitive when the same person does both actions.

Here, the same person:

• mi madre = wants
• mi madre = will prune

So:

• Mi madre quiere podar ese arbusto.

This works like English wants to prune.

If the second action has a different subject, Spanish normally uses querer que + subjunctive:

• Mi madre quiere que el jardinero pode el arbusto.
  = My mother wants the gardener to prune the shrub.

Ese is a demonstrative adjective meaning that.

It must agree with the noun:

• arbusto is masculine singular
• so the form is ese

Compare:

• este arbusto = this shrub
• ese arbusto = that shrub
• aquel arbusto = that shrub over there / that more distant shrub

Very roughly:

• este = near the speaker
• ese = not here / near the listener / somewhat removed
• aquel = farther away

In everyday Spanish, ese is very often the normal choice for English that.

Use antes de que when it is followed by a full clause with a conjugated verb:

• antes de que crezca más

Here, crezca is a conjugated verb, so que is required.

Use antes de by itself when it is followed by a noun or an infinitive:

• antes de la cena = before dinner
• antes de podar el arbusto = before pruning the shrub

So the pattern is:

• antes de + noun/infinitive
• antes de que + conjugated verb

Because antes de que normally triggers the subjunctive.

The idea is that the growing has not happened yet at the time the mother wants to prune it. Spanish treats that kind of future, anticipated action as subjunctive after antes de que.

So:

• antes de que crezca más = before it grows more

Using the indicative here (crece) would not be standard in this sentence.

Crezca is the present subjunctive of crecer.

A useful way to form it is:

1. Start with the yo form of the present indicative:
   yo crezco
2. Remove the final -o:
   crezc-
3. Add the present subjunctive ending for él/ella/usted:
   -a

So:

• crezco → crezca

This happens with many verbs ending in -cer or -cir that have -zco in the yo form.

Here más means more / any more / further.

So crezca más means:

• grows more
• grows any bigger
• grows further

In natural English, you might translate the whole part as:

• before it grows any more
• before it gets any bigger

The accent matters too: más has an accent because it means more. Without the accent, mas is an old-fashioned word meaning but.

Yes. If the subject stays the same and you want a more compact structure, Spanish can sometimes use an infinitive instead of a full clause.

For example:

• Mi madre quiere podar ese arbusto antes de que crezca más.
• Mi madre quiere podar ese arbusto antes de crecer más.

But in this specific case, antes de que crezca más is clearer and more natural, because the subject of crezca is really the shrub, not the mother.

So the original sentence is the most straightforward and idiomatic way to say it.