If you’re like most homeowners, the exterior appearance of your home matters for at least a couple of reasons. You naturally desire to cultivate an outdoor living space that provides a pleasant and comfortable place where you, your family, and friends can enjoy spending time, and you probably also consider it a point of pride to present an appealing view to the outside world. You may spend a great deal of time on lawn care tasks and strive to keep your flowering plants thriving. Many homeowners, however, struggle when it comes to pruning shrubs, and they’re often left with ragged, unshapely results that add nothing to the aesthetics of their landscaping.
Following is a brief guide for homeowners considered performing their own bush trimming tasks.
Know Your Plant Material
One of the first things homeowners who want to prune their own shrubs should know is that there is no one-size-fits-all technique for shrub maintenance. Proper pruning depends very much on the type of shrub in question. For instance, certain flowering shrubs such as rhododendrons and azaleas will fail to bloom if you remove their new growth in early spring because their flower buds develop during autumn of the previous year. The time to prune these types of shrubs is after they flower and before the new buds for the next year begin to develop.
Before picking up a pair of pruning shears, homeowners should research the particular cultivation requirements of their shrubs and small trees to help minimize the chances of actually damaging them with their efforts. Shrubs that have been improperly pruned often never reach their full potential. A prime example of this is shrubs that have been pruned flat on top — you’ve probably seen this in other people’s yards. This technique should be avoided at all costs with the exception of shrubs grown specifically as hedges. Otherwise, the plant may take years to regain its natural shape and could end up being ruined because this strategy encourages growth on the side branches, and this can create an awkward and unwieldy appearance.
It’s also important to keep in mind that, as a general rule, evergreen shrubs require very little pruning at all. These types of shrubs are at their best if you simply keep an eye on them for dead wood or diseased branches and remove any of this in a timely fashion.
First Things First — the Four Ds of Bush Trimming
The four Ds of bush trimming are dead, damaged, diseased, and deranged.
No matter what type of shrub you’re pruning, the first order of business is to remove any dead wood that may be present as a result of storm damage or other environmental conditions. Diseased wood should also be removed to prevent the spread of pathogens.
Crossing branches and those that are growing too closely together fall under the category of deranged and should be removed with a sharp pair of hand pruners. You should also remove any water sprouts that exist near the bottom of the trunk because these sap energy from the main stem. Furthermore, if the shrub has been grafted onto a native rootstock, the water sprouts will show the characteristics of the rootstock rather than those of the grafted material.
Shrub Pruning Techniques for Cane-Growing Shrubs
Cane-growing shrubs are those that grow from multiple stems rather than have just one main stem, and they require different pruning practices that their counterparts with more treelike growth patterns. Cane shrubs include hydrangea, forsythia, flowering quince, viburnum, and mock orange. These shrubs all provide a graceful, flowing appearance and make wonderful specimen plantings in the front or back yard. However, pruning cane-growing shrubs wrong is a sure way to spoil their look and limit their performance. For instance, you should never use a hedge trimmer on cane-growing shrubs, and you should let them grow for three full seasons before implementing shrub trimming procedures into their care and maintenance plan.
Cane-growing shrubs that bloom in spring or early summer should be pruned shortly after the flowers fade, and those that bloom during summer or autumn can be pruned in late winter or early spring. The general blueprint for pruning these shrubs is to remove one-third of the shrub’s canes. After removing anything that falls under the category of the four Ds, always start with removing the oldest canes first to help control the overall height of the plant and allows more sunlight to reach its interior. However, if the bush has been neglected to the point where it’s grown completely out of control, you can simply cut down all the canes to the ground and it will produce new shoots.
Use the Right Tools for the Job
As mentioned previously, using a hedge trimmer for general shrub pruning isn’t recommended because they were designed for the specific purpose of creating a flat surface on the top of the plant. Always ensure that the tools you use are the ones made for the particular job at hand. For instance, small hand shears meant for clipping vegetative growth should never be used on thick lower branches or on older canes. Doing so can result in jagged, uneven cuts that make it easier for pathogens and pests to gain access to the vascular systems of the shrubs, and you can also sustain significant physical injury by using the wrong tools for the job. Keeping tools sharpened and sanitized are also important to prevent spreading disease.
Consider Using a Professional Bush Trimming Service / Arborist
Outsourcing yard work to a professional company that includes pruning services among its offerings provides an excellent way to free up your time on weekends and have the beautiful back yard of your dreams. Look for a local company that offers trimming services as well as other types of yard care. Because they’ll know how to properly care for your shrubs, you’ll probably save money in the long run. After all, replacing shrubs and trees isn’t cheap, and neither is purchasing and maintaining proper pruning equipment.