Pruning with no Regrets

by Paddy Wales

Have you ever stared at a shrub with clippers in hand and asked yourself, What am I supposed to do? Unfortunately, many people cut first, and only ask the question a year later when the mal-pruned shrub has sprouted out of control. The functions of pruning are removing any dead or damaged branches, directing the new growth in a specific direction, and renewing an overly dense shrub.

Make each cut for a reason. Begin by cutting out any dead wood. Two branches that rub against each other invite disease, so cut out one. If a branch is unsightly, or rubbing on the house, or hanging too low to the ground, it's okay to remove it. Just don't take out too many, or the whole shape may be compromised.

To make the shrub bushier, make many cuts near the tips of branches. To emphasize natural shape on such tree-like shrubs as pieris, magnolias, deciduous viburnum, camellias or witch hazel, thin the branches by cutting out a few that grow towards the centre. Make these cuts all the way back to the next branch or to the ground. To renew an overgrown shrub with many trunks or canes, such as forsythia, weigela, kerria, or bamboo, remove up to one third of the oldest trunks to the ground.

A plant will send out new growth from just below the cut. The more you remove, the greater the new growth. This is why extreme pruning can result in ugly, unmanageable growth. Spring-bloomers can be pruned right after they bloom. Rhododendrons and Japanese maples seldom need pruning.

Use clean, sharp tools. To prevent diseases from spreading, especially with Japanese maples, roses, or fruit trees, spray Lysol onto clippers before starting each shrub. And never ever prune when you're angry.

For some excellent advice on how to prune shrubs and trees, check out the Plant Amnesty web site. The organization is based in Seattle so provides information especially useful to gardeners in the Pacific Northwest and Coastal B.C.

Paddy Wales is a well known garden photographer for Canadian magazines. She is responsible for the images that appear in Journeys Through the Garden: Inspirations for Gardeners in B.C. and the Pacific Northwest, Creating a Cottage Garden in Canada, and numerous books authored by Marjorie Harris. When Paddy is not busy photographing other people's gardens, she is busy working on her own in Roberts Creek.