I found a new favorite book: “The Pruning Answer Book: Solutions to Every Problem You’ll Ever Face, Answers to Every Question You’ll Ever Ask” by Lewis Hill and Penelope O’Sullivan (Storey Books).
I am not a prune-aholic by any means, and I don’t become one with my secateurs. But as my garden matures on nearly three-fourths of an acre, I spend a good part of four seasons whacking it all back.
If your wisteria aren’t blooming as well as they used to, try root pruning to prompt new growth.JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
I’ve tried to go with prune-less plants as much as possible – conifers that develop into their own unique shapes with no trimming and shrubs that are round and mounding with no help from me. Ornamental grasses get it once a year in January and succulents are generally no bother.
It’s all the rest that gets jungle-like faster than I can keep up with it.
“The Pruning Answer Book” tells you how to prune everything you grow from fruit trees to flowering shrubs, roses, vines and so forth. And has a handy Plant by Plant Pruning Guide in the back of the book.
As to the Key to Pruning Methods, I realized as I read the book that I do close to all of them. I’m not saying this is a good thing – and I probably need to rethink my no-pruning rule, but here they are:
Candling – Pinching off new growth on conifers, but mostly pines. This is a good way to control growth by pinching the candles that appear during the growing season.
Cleanup – Removing dead, diseased and damaged growth. I do a lot of this to various roses, hydrangea, shrubs and fruit trees.
Coppicing – Cutting trees and shrubs to the ground. I do this on my golden privet since only the new growth is golden. These get wacked to the ground each winter. Buddleia responds to this sort of pruning, although I don’t grow it. Ornamental grasses get it in the winter.
Deadheading – Pinching faded flowers. Does this ever end?
Espalier – Training plants into two-dimensional patterns. Thankfully, no, not doing this and never will.
Head back – Pruning to an outward-facing bud within a canopy. Most of us do this on gangly roses a few times a year when we prune the tips back to an outward facing leaf set.
Limbing up – Just finished this sort of pruning on my oaks that were too dense and low growing. Limbing up is removing low-growing branches.
Pollarding – see coppicing.
Pruning as a standard – think poodle cut. I’ve got two junipers in poodle shapes that I hit with scissors every so often.
Renewal – removing one-third of old wood each year. I defiantly do this to my peach tree. Peaches respond well to severe pruning with boatloads of fruit in spring.
Renovating – Cutting stems to 6 to 12 inches above ground. I realize now that for the best blooms I should be renovating my philadelphus.
Root pruning – Trimming roots with a sharp shovel. I’ll do this a month or so before I plan to move a plant. Wisteria that won’t bloom responds well to root pruning. This is also standard practice for Bonsai enthusiasts.
Shaping – If this is the same as hedging, I do a lot of this type of pruning since I planted truckloads of boxwood a few years back. The apricot tree responds well to an overall tip shearing in early summer. So do azaleas.
Shearing – See shaping.
Shrub to tree – One of my favorite ways to achieve a small tree look on my property is to prune a large shrub to look like a small tree. Pittosporum are good examples.
Sucker removal – Think fruit trees, as they are famous for suckering at their bases. My pittosporum tennufolium sucker, too. Ugh! And so do olive trees.
Thinning – Cutting stems and branches back to the trunk. Almost every shrub or tree that isn’t a conifer or boxwood needs thinning to look its best.
Topiary – Trimming plants into decorative shapes. It’s not my look.
Training – Directing structural growth through pruning. Grapevines need this every year. Climbing roses do, too, and many kinds of vines. Get at your Japanese maples while they are young.
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