On the cutting edge - Pruning ornamentals keeps your garden - gardening - Brief Article

Flower & Garden Magazine, Nov, 2001

Every year, landscape gardeners should step back, look at their plantings and formulate a pruning plan that will keep ornamentals looking their best, says a gardening expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

"Pruning should start as soon as you have the plants in the ground," says Robert Nuss, professor of ornamental horticulture. "You can shorten long stems and encourage branching to increase the density and volume on new plants."

Nuss says most landscape plants should be lightly pruned every few years. "If you prune hard every year to keep a plant to a certain size in your landscape, it's better to replace that plant with one that has growth characteristics better suited to the site," he says.

All gardeners, Nuss says, should understand the difference between pruning and shearing.

* PRUNING

Pruning means individually selecting and cutting specific branches or twigs. Larger pieces are removed at specific locations on the plant.

* SHEARING

Shearing removes one to two inches of growth from the entire plant by indiscriminately clipping all twig ends.

"Before pruning, consider the properties of the plant," Nuss explains. "Look at its natural form, growth habits, growth rate, height, spread and flowering time."

Prune if:

* There are dead, diseased, damaged or insect-injured parts.

* There is a need to make the plant less dense, or open the center for light and airflow.

* The plant needs rejuvenation.

* A special shape is desired, as with hedges or topiaries.

* Dead flower clusters and seedpods must be removed.

Nuss says savvy gardeners should use one of three pruning methods.

* REJUVENATION

This is the most severe pruning method. Used on older plants that have grown too large or woody, this approach removes the oldest branches at or near ground level, leaving only young stems. "Pruning old wood on shrubs will stimulate the growth of new wood," Nuss says. "The newer wood will have better flowers and form."

"If there aren't many young stems, remove about one-third of the older wood each season over three years," Nuss explains. "New growth will have to be pruned to encourage some branching and to retain the quality and density of the plant."

* THINNING

These pruning cuts are done by removing entire twigs or branches where they attach to the main stem. It is the least conspicuous pruning plan. "By cutting the inward-growing twigs, the remaining growth will fill in the outside of the plant;' Nuss says. "This method is best used on very dense plants."

* HEADING BACK

This method reduces the height or size of the plant. Branches or twigs are cut back to a bud or emerging side branch. "The shape of the plant is controlled by the location of the bud at the end of the cut," Nuss explains. "An inward-pointing bud will make the plant denser; an outward-pointing bud will do the opposite."

Nuss warns that heading back stimulates the development of smaller shoots and dense growth, particularly if every branch is headed back. Nuss recommends heading back just 30% of a plant's longest branches in a growing season.

Shrubs that flower in the spring should be pruned after they bloom. Plants that flower in mid and late summer should be pruned in the spring before growth starts. "Any fall pruning should be done after the plant is dormant," Nuss says. "But keep pruning at this time of year to a minimum."

"If flowers aren't important to the plant, as in the case of needle evergreens, it's better to prune when the plant is just breaking dormancy in spring," he adds. "Without its foliage, the problem parts of the plant are easily seen."