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Selective Pruning of Ornamental Trees and Shrubs |
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Frequency
Whether your plants are old or new to your garden, all need
pruning attention. Allow new plants one or two years in the
ground to get their roots established before starting a pruning
schedule. Slow-growing ornamentals, such as conifers, may require
infrequent, minimal pruning. Vigorous growing shrubs may need
comprehensive pruning almost annually.
Deadwood
Remove all deadwood, including whole branches or half-dead ones,
by cutting back to live wood. In some shrubs, you may be able
to bend a dead branch until it snaps off at the base below ground
level. In trees and other shrubs, use sharp loppers or a pruning
saw to make a clean cut at the trunk or at an appropriate secondary
branch. Once all deadwood has been eliminated, stand back and
see what's left. Neglected mature trees and shrubs will show
great structural improvements.
Thinning
Once you get to pruning live wood, start by making big cuts.
Thinning cuts remove entire branches to create a more open plant
and accentuate its natural character. While studying the branching
habit of your plant, focus your attention on where major branches
start. In shrubs, look at the crown from ground level. In trees,
look at where branches grow out of the trunk. Move around the
plant to get a good perspective. Ask yourself if removing a
particular branch will improve the plant's vigor. Will its absence
help balance the distribution of branches around the plant?
If the answers are yes, make the cut.
How Much Cutting?
Pruning stresses the plant, so limit your cuts to 25 to 30 per
cent of its total branch growth. That means one in three or
four branches can be removed without harming the plant as a
whole.
Selective pruning requires that you work from the inside of
the plant outward to the branch tips. Crossed branches damage
each other by rubbing together. Get rid of the least well-positioned
offenders. Remove some of the oldest branches, which no longer
produce abundant flowers. Cut out old wood that interferes with
better-placed new growth. Keep outward-growing branches, but
eliminate branches growing into the center of the tree or shrub.
Heading Back
Thinning cuts provide growing space inside the plant's mass
of branches. Heading back or shortening branches creates space
around the outside of the plant. This will be the last step
in your pruning session.
Many well-grown trees and shrubs outgrow their allotted space
in the garden, even if you have allowed for their space requirements
as recommended by the nursery. Light pruning, making small cuts
back to secondary branches or buds, should be enough to keep
trees and shrubs from becoming too wide or too tall.
Remember that pruning is a creative gardening activity. The
best way to learn how to do it is through practice!
Christine Marusaik |
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Other Articles from this Issue |
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