Pruning: Art Best Learned by Experience

Pruning of ornamental plants is an art best learned by experience. One way to learn the fundamentals is to study the mistakes of others.

All of you have seen the once-a-year pruner who, armed with saw, shears and axe, attacks the garden and cuts all hedges and shrubs back to the ground. After cleanup the tools are put away until the following year.

Most gardeners are just the opposite. The timid pruners are fearful to remove even a single leaf from a plant. His (or her) hands-off policy often results in overgrown, leggy plants.

In between the two extremes is the "shearer". The hedge-shears addict barbers his shrubs into domes, cones, spheres, rectangles, squares, etc. etc. The yard ends up looking like a display area for geometric shapes. A few plants thrive under this treatment but many others are severely injured.

As we first said, pruning is an art which can be acquired through learning certain basic principles and the exceptions to them, and through experience and close observation.

The purpose of pruning is to remove unwanted growth to benefit the plant parts that remain and to improve the appearance of the plants.

The number one reason for pruning is to maintain plant health. Prune to remove dead, weak or damaged wood and disease and insect infested wood.

Remove any diseased or dead wood whenever it appears. This is one of the best ways to stop the spread of disease to the rest of the plant or neighboring plants. Remove branches which rub and weaken another limb and remove weak, damaged or crowded stems. Always remember that maintenance of plant health is the fundamental reason for pruning.

A second reason to prune is to remove old stems and branches to encourage new vigorous growth. This can be done lightly every year and is a good procedure to follow if the plant is "leggy" or growing out-of-bounds.

The reason most people prune is to maintain or develop a desired size or form, to shape the plant and produce more dense growth.

General thinning and corrective pruning can be done any time of year, however, the best time to prune varies with different plants.

Deciduous plants may be pruned late in their dormant season - for example: mimosa, jacaranda, oaks, crepe myrtle. Late winter or early spring is suitable for those plants which are late-flowering and fruiting varieties.

Early flowering plants such as azaleas, spiraeas, wisteria, jasmines, and camellias should be pruned immediately after flowering.

Plants that produce flowers on their new growth, such as abelia, hibiscus and allamanda, usually are pruned during the dormant season or before the new flush of growth in the spring.

If in doubt, a rule of thumb to follow for flowering trees and shrubs is to prune soon after the flowers have fallen.