A Few Brief Guidelines For Pruning Perfection

Is it possible that my last blog entry was November 20th? Goodness gracious, that's a lengthy interval between episodes. Thanks for your patience. What can I say, life has had its hiccups since the days before Thanksgiving. Sometimes, life just kicks your butt. Back on January 7th, my friend Greg remarked he was awaiting the next installment. Well, it is finally finished.

If you garden, it is inevitable that you'll need to prune at some point. In my recent consultations, I have seen some dreadful pruning, in fact downright awful. I am a big fan of a Facebook page called Crimes Against Horticulture: When Bad Taste Meets Power Tools. It is a fun place to chronicle the horrible things done to defenseless plants.

https://www.facebook.com/CrimesAgainstHorticulture/.

 I really am not philosophically opposed to hedges, but if one decides to hedge, use hedged plants sparingly, and in the right context, and if you hedge make them crisp and lovely; but may I please gently correct a misconception and practice performed by almost all gardeners I encounter? God didn't intend every plant in your garden to be a ball, square, drum, poodle, or pillar. Not every plant should have a gas powered hedge trimmer give it a "crew cut" on a semi-monthly basis. Recently, I have been dealing with gardeners that take the gas hedgers to fruit trees and trim them like hedges...Just ghastly.

Before we start trimming away at your precious plants, please read this introductory article regarding tools and sanitation, if you haven't already read it:

http://socalurbanfarmer.blogspot.com/2016/11/prune-noun-verb-or-chance-for-mess.html

So what can you do to beautify your shrubs and small trees to make them look their best? I'll give you a few pointers to get you at least going in the right direction.

1) Put away the hedge trimmers.

I know it's the easiest and fastest way to trim your plants, but the downside is, it looks it. Use your secateurs and a allow your task a bit more time and precision, and your plants will look so much better.

2) Remove invasive plants that are climbing into your shrubs.

Before you do anything else to the plants themselves, deal with any plants that are growing up into your shrubs and trees. Invasive plants such as ivy, asparagus fern (asparagoides and sprengerii), morning glories, and other aggressive vines can make your trees and shrubs look very untidy. I really can't abide the look of ivy climbing up into shrubs and trees. Ivy, ficus repens, and other vines can strangle your plants. They reduce air circulation which can greatly increase destructive insect populations. Ivy growing up the trunk of a tree or into shrubs is a bit like a python crawling up your pant leg...that isn't a pleasant thought is it? Now imagine how that poor tree feels. Ivy is also one of the favorite places for rats and mice to live and nest. Remove all vestiges of attaching vines from the invasives before touching the shrubs themselves.

This invasive vine is the worst!

Is this a Raphiolepis or an ivy hedge?

 3) Remove any dead or diseased material.

You'll be amazed how much better your plants will look if you just remove dead limbs, branches, twigs, and snags. Often, I will tell people to just start with removing the dead stuff, and then step back and look at how nice things look. It will be a huge improvement. Also look for stubs from previous bad pruning. Remove all signs of dead leaves and debris.

4) Make all your cuts just above flush.

One of the best bits of pruning advice I can give you is to make every cut you make just above flush. Cuts that leave stubs are bad, really bad! Often, folks leave behind things I can't even classify as stubs, they are more like amputations. On the other hand, don't cut deeper than the growth collar of anything you cut off. The point is to make your cuts in a growth collar, so that the cambium layer will grow back quickly over the cut, and as quickly as possible cover the wound. Don't leave any stubs! If former pruners have left stumps or stubs, remove their past mistakes. Leaving stubs will allow fungal spores and wood rot to have ready access to the heart wood of your tree. Leaving stubs also leaves an entry point and food for termites. You don't want to lose your precious plants to a termite infestation.

Awful stubs left behind from previous years of pruning, now full of termites and threatening the life of the tree.

A large stub left on an Eriobotrya deflexa should have been removed at the time of pruning. Now the stub is full of termites.

5) Look at the bottom of your tree or shrub. If you have watersprouts from the base, or if a fruit tree, any growth below the graft line , remove them.

More often than not, I encounter trees that have severe issues with root stock growth, especially on citrus trees. Learn where the graft line is on your trees! This is truly one of the most important tidbits of knowledge you can have. The graft is usually about six inches up from the bottom on the trunk of your tree. If will appear as a swollen, wider area on the trunk. Sometimes it will even form somewhat of a dog leg. Any growth coming from below that graft needs to be cut off. Cut it off cleanly, just above flush Look for growth that looks different from the rest of the tree. Look especially for very vertical growth, and on citrus look for growths that are exceptionally thorny.

6) Step back and study the tree or shrub's shape. Walk around the prospective plant to be pruned.

You'd be shocked how often people just start whacking at things. Before you touch the tree or shrub you are pruning, give it a good once over. Note the shape of your patient. Does it have distinctively beautiful or shapely branches you'd like to retain. Note that. Does it have any really ugly portions that need your attention. Note that too. As you commence pruning, avoid the temptation to get stuck in one place. Often, you will over-prune a particular area without realizing you've even done it. Don't get carried away; take your time! As you prune, frequently step back and look at the big picture. As you prune, work in a circular pattern around the tree.

7) Shake your prospective cuts!

Before you make a cut, follow the branches from the trunk to the tip. Do the shake test, Wiggle your prospective cut to see where it goes. Often, it isn't where you think it is. Remember the old adage "measure twice, cut once"? The same rule applies to pruning: follow the growth to its tip, shake the branch to see where it goes through the shrub or tree, make one last check, then cut.

8) Remove branches that cross.

Each branch is worthy of its own space. If two branches cross each other, select the better of the two; remove the inferior one. Same rule applies to rubbing branches. No branches should ever rub against each other.

9) Remove perpendicular branches.

Removing perpendicular branches is a quick and easy way to say, remove branches that go straight up and remove branches that point downward. Generally speaking, for most trees and shrubs, desired branches are those that have a generally horizontal projection from the trunk. Of course this doesn't apply to plants that have a very vertical growth habit. While you're at it,remove any foliage or branches that touch the ground, walls, structures, or other plants. Things will be so much more aesthetically pleasing if they look like they belong, and aren't invading the space of anything else. Let me give you a small bit of advice that almost all gardeners need to hear: Negative space is as important as positive space. Don't crowd things too much. Allow some space between plants, structures, and other features. Everything will look better, and less crowded. I hate being in a garden where everything is a chaotic jumble. Don't fence me in, give me some space!

10) Make "windows".

How would you like living in a window-less room with no light, and worse yet, no air circulation? Doesn't sound very pleasant, does it? Well, in many gardens I visit I see the horticultural equivalent of living in rooms without windows. Trees and shrubs with densely packed foliage which shades many portions of plants, and prevents much needed air circulation to move through trees and shrubs. As you prune your shrub or tree, try to make evenly spaced openings throughout the plant to allow light to penetrate, and air to circulate. Insect problems are geometrically worse in plants where air can't move. A little breeze moving through a plant will be of immense help to you in reducing bad insect populations.

A horrendous mealybug infestation caused by very dense planting and no air circulation.

Mealybugs gone wild...yuchhh!!!

Among the insects that will go absolutely crazy in wind protected areas are mealybug, scale, wooly aphids, and especially spider mites. In cases of severe infestation, open the plants up, and give the foliage and structure a strong spray of water. Spray especially under the leaves. If problem persists, spray with a bit of Castille soap or horticultural oil mixed with water.

Well, I think that's enough for now. Good instructions seem to come in tens. Remember those ten things Moses tried to drive home with his tribes. Please accept these ten gentle instructions from me to you, to bring your trees and shrubs to their former glory and natural beauty. Tomorrow is Saturday, you have your marching orders. You know what to do.