Do give the plant an overhaul by thinning out the old wood over the course of three years, making room for all new growth. Starting at the base of the shrub, eliminate the centermost branches, taking out no more than one-third of the shrub's total mass.
New growth from the base should follow the next growing season. Remove another third of the old wood at the base in each of years two and three. By the end of year three, the shrub should be made up of entirely new, vigorous growth.
Don't remove more than one-third of the shrub's branches at any one time. This preserves enough foliage that the plant can make sufficient food through photosynthesis to stay robust and generate new growth quickly. Do use your index finger and thumb to pinch off the end or terminal buds of new branches on rhododendron, azalea, Japanese pieris, mountain laurel, and other broad-leaved evergreens to encourage side branching on the lower part of the shrub.
As with a heading cut, manually removing the terminal leaf bud signals a dormant bud below it to grow, stimulating lush side branching. This is also a way to control the shrub's overall size. Don't pinch off the flower buds in the process. These are the bigger, fatter buds at the ends of branches. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.
By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Shrub Pruning Dos and Don'ts. By Sal Vaglica. Pinterest Email Pocket Flipboard. Snip Shape Photo by Kindra Clineff If the thought of cutting into what looks like a perfectly happy plant makes you cringe, you're not alone. Pro Advice "To deal with a wayward evergreen branch, be sure to cut it back to the center of the shrub, where it meets another stem.
Illustration by Elizabeth Traynor Do make selective cuts to neaten up a poorly pruned shrub by stimulating new growth where you want it and removing injured, less vigorous wood. Problem: Your shrub has dense foliage at the top but looks lifeless inside. Prune too much or too early, and you may stunt the tree just at the point where it needs lots of top greenery to support the development of its new root system.
Shade trees, too, will be stimulated into new growth by assertive pruning, but they do not require the same vigorous pruning that multi-stemmed shrubs do. Pruning trees regularly is still important, however, since it makes them less susceptible to wind damage.
Periodic hard pruning is appropriate for any healthy, established shrub, but it may be overdue if either or both of these conditions apply:. For an established shrub or small tree, one assertive pruning session each growing season should be the maximum. At other times, pruning should be limited to the removal of dead or diseased branches, or simple shaping pruning to keep hedges in their proper shape. For most shrubs, late winter or early spring is the best time to prune.
The plants are still in full dormancy at this time but are just preparing to produce new growth. If your shrub is a spring-blooming variety, though, make sure to leave behind enough flower buds on the stems for a spring show.
Some homeowners are very reluctant to aggressively prune a shrub or tree, but rest assured that an established shrub will quickly thank you for the effort with lots of dense new growth. With a vigorous, established shrub, begin by removing any dead, damaged, or diseased wood.
Next, remove any crossing branches where the bark is rubbing. Then, and most difficult for some homeowners select a group of strong, well-placed stems to save, then sacrifice a good number of the secondary stems.
This aggressive pruning will soon have the impact of jump-starting new growth on the remaining branches, and within a matter of a few weeks, you will see a dramatic improvement in the shrub. If you wish, this heavy pruning can be concluded with some light pruning at the tips of remaining stems in order to shape the shrub, such as when it is part of a hedge.
For new gardeners, the tendency is to prune too little and fall short of the ideal. When a shrub has been neglected for many years, it may get so overgrown and out of control that normal pruning isn't enough.
For these shrubs, some experts recommend a very severe form of pruning, known as rejuvenation pruning. This involves cutting the entire shrub off at a level just six to 12 inches above the ground.
Light pruning may also be done in mid-summer. Avoid pruning evergreen shrubs in the fall. Fall pruned evergreens are more susceptible to winter injury. February through March is generally regarded as the best time to prune most deciduous trees. The absence of foliage at this time of year gives the individual a clear view of the tree and allows the selection and removal of appropriate branches.
Also, the walling-off or compartmentalization of wounds occurs most rapidly just prior to the onset of growth in spring. Oaks are an exception. The winter months — December, January, and February — are the best time to prune oak trees. Deciduous trees can be pruned at other times of the year with little or no negative consequences. However, if possible, avoid pruning deciduous trees in spring when the trees are leafing out and in fall when the trees are dropping their leaves.
To reduce the risk of an oak wilt infection, do not prune oaks from March through October. Oak wilt is a fungal disease that is lethal to many oaks.
It can spread from infected trees to healthy trees by sap-feeding beetles "picnic bugs". If an oak tree must be pruned in spring or summer such as after a storm , apply latex housepaint to the pruning cuts to avoid attracting sap-feeding beetles to the wounds. Late February to early April is the best time to prune fruit trees in Iowa. Pruning should be completed before the fruit trees begin to break bud leaf out in early spring.
Evergreen trees, such as pine, spruce, and fir, require little pruning. Dead, broken, and diseased branches can be removed at any time of year. Late winter is the best time to remove unwanted lower branches on evergreen trees. Spruce and fir trees possess side or lateral buds on their newest outermost growth.
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