Mature Geraldton wax and thryptomene, which often become leggy with spindly, leafless stems, look and flower better tamed by an occasional heavy haircut. Here are some useful guidelines. Fruit trees, ornamentals such as roses, iris and canna lilies, and herbs such as lemongrass and mint can be severely affected. Bury or bin rose prunings. Pruning removes shade, exposing soil to sunshine, so insulate surface-feeding roots by mulching.
Wounds may bleed, dehydrating plants, especially in dry weather. Roses are particularly susceptible. After pruning, water well and apply mulches. Sap-sucking pests love soft new growth. Spray virus-spreading aphids with pyrethrum or soapy water, or rub off. Ground-dwelling orchids, such as herbaceous Bletilla and Pleione species, may be pruned to the ground in late autumn. Tree-dwelling orchids drop flowers and leaves without help. Orchids slowly remove energy from the swollen pseudo-bulb or back-bulb at the base. Let this completely wither before pruning. Topiary plants are trained to a geometrical shape or with a wire framework to guide pruning.
Use bonsai secateurs, sheep shears, sturdy scissors or hedge trimmers. Keep these oiled and sharp to avoid dieback and disease, and to help healing. Trim monthly in the growing season to keep a crisp shape. This is an essential part of your tool kit. It is designed to cut through branches and stems too thick for secateurs or loppers.
Folding handsaws are versatile, as are extendible tree pole pruners with a detachable head. The best pole pruners have a bypass pruning blade and a pruning saw so you can maintain hard-wooded or fibrous plants such as trees, bamboo and palms. The tree or shrub is pruned so the branches spread upwards and outwards, keeping the centre open. Maintaining a branch-free, open centre in fruit trees such as fig, peach and plum, and shrubs such as roses encourages ventilation and brings in the light so wet leaves, stems, flowers and fruit can dry out more quickly.
This reduces the risk of disease. The leaves of eucalyptus trees change in shape and form as the tree matures. Coppicing trees in early spring involves pruning them back almost to ground level, stimulating new shoots carrying juvenile foliage. Copper-based sprays such as lime sulfur and Fungus Fighter control pests, pest eggs, diseases and their resting spores. This treatment is known as winter washing. Ensure all above-ground parts of the plant are wetted, including bark fissures.
Rinse any spray off nearby foliage and turf to prevent burning. Timing is important, and it varies between plants. If you want a flowering hedge of hibiscus, bougainvillea or spiraea, prune as soon as flowering finishes. If you want flowers followed by fruit, as with berberis or lillypilly, prune after fruit drop. If crisp lines are important, clip the hedge monthly throughout the growing season.
Several common flowering plants cause concern when their fruit is first noticed. Camellia, wisteria, hibiscus and frangipani can fruit following pollination and a good growing season. These can be pruned off. This perennial produces relatively short-lived stems that die after reproducing. Other commonly grown examples are bromeliad, heliconia, banana and the Burmese fish-tail palm Caryota mitis.
Agave and related Furcraea often sprout numerous aerial bulbils from dying flower spikes before completely dying, and this spectacle might just be worth waiting for. This is critical when pruning a collection of botanically related plants such as iris, orchid, street trees or trees in orchards especially apples, pears, stonefruit and pawpaw. The most economical disinfectant is 1 part household bleach to 99 parts water. Dip blades for 90 seconds. Tea-tree oil, mineral turpentine, methylated spirits or hospital-grade disinfectants such as Clensel can also be used.
The most trusted technique for pruning roses is to make an angled cut close to, but just above, a healthy, outward-facing bud, with the cut sloping down and away from the bud. This allows water to run off the cut stem, and for the new shoot to grow away from the centre of the plant to form a vase-shaped bush. Use bypass secateurs right for rose pruning as their scissor-like cutting action helps to avoid damage. The cutting action of anvil secateurs crushes the stems of roses, encouraging dieback and disease.
This style is better for big, tough plants or removing deadwood. Rippled blades can make slicing through slightly thicker, fibrous plants, such as lomandra leaves, easier than straight blades. There are certain diseases, such as various rust diseases and root rots, that happily survive ordinary or cool composting. However, the technique of hot composting can destroy all fungal and bacterial diseases, but there are two vital steps that are necessary for success.
Making the heap a minimum of 1m3 ensures it will generate the 60C necessary to kill diseases and weeds. Also, turning the heap at weekly intervals helps expose every part of the heap to the heat treatment.
Most gums, resins and sticky sap can be removed from cutting blades using eucalyptus oil and light grade glass-paper. Ragged wounds can cause stems to die back or invite infections. Some secateur blades can be sharpened at home using a sharpening stone, while others are designed so that worn blades can be replaced. Promptly clean and treat any scratches you receive when pruning. Also beware of white milky sap which may irritate skin and eyes.
Cover up when pruning grevillea as these plants can cause skin allergies. Unpruned gardens become a complex of confused elements to some people, but a paradise of free expression to others. Every month prune off any dead, damaged or spindly growth to control disease. Also, regularly check trees for dead or broken branches that require pruning or total removal. If your frangipani is damaged by frost, promptly prune off affected parts as its stems are susceptible to fungal decay. Treat wounds with powdered sulfur to combat rot.
The most important pruning implement is a pair of clean, sharp secateurs. These tools along with loppers have two different types of blades. Anvil secateurs have one cutting blade that cuts against a fixed blade. Bypass secateurs have two sharp blades that cut with a scissor action. Secateurs with anvil blades are generally cheaper than bypass types but may bruise stems during pruning. When buying expensive secateurs, check whether blades can be sharpened or replaced. Always clean blades after pruning by wiping away sap. Nothing beats a good old pruning session to exercise discipline in the garden.
Wear comfortable but sturdy gloves, a long-sleeved shirt, long pants and eyewear to protect your skin and eyes from scratches and spines. Drink plenty of water and protect yourself from the sun. Shape and train tropical plants and rejuvenate spring- flowering trees and shrubs when flowers finish. Remove stems damaged by winter frost. Prune pyrostegia to shape after flowering. Rejuvenate camellia and winter-blooming shrubs.
Deadhead bulbs and spring-flowering annuals. Cut down cannas for new growth and blooms. Tip-prune wattles after their spring show. Lightly clip late-winter flowering shrubs such as boronia and lavender. Remove old or drooping palm and fern fronds. Cut back plants over paths. Tip-prune herbaceous perennials such as nepeta.
Rejuvenate pelargonium, passionfruit and azalea. Clear and tidy ahead of the bushfire season. Shape banksia, grevillea, bottlebrush.
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Prune and train wisteria. Trim santolina, diosma and rosemary. This cut removes most of the branch or limb.
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The final cut is made at the branch bark ridge. Since the weight of the limb has been removed, this final cut can be made with precision and without the risk of damage to the bark. Use of pruning paints and dressings has been a controversial issue over the years. Current research indicates minimal value in treating correctly pruned cuts since the branch bark ridge and subsequent woundwood production by the tree or shrub are the best defenses against disease organisms and insects.
This current suggestion is based on scientific rather than the anecdotal or "emotional" evidence of the past. Research has determined that, in many cases, pruning paints and dressings, particularly those made with turpentine, mineral spirits, creosote, or pentachlorophenol compounds, actually seal in moisture and potential disease organisms and inhibit natural wound healing and woundwood production by killing the wood.
Pruning dressings usually serve a purely cosmetic, emotional purpose. Although they make you feel better, they can actually harm the tree. However, pruning is the focus of this discussion. Pruning is the process when individual branches are cut selectively. Shearing is the process when all branches are cut indiscriminately. The latter technique is useful in specialized situations such as maintaining formal hedges or topiaries.
The timing of pruning is very important and depends upon the type of plant and the desired outcome. When trying to decide when to prune, there are a few simple factors that need to be considered. Wood of this type can be pruned at anytime and should be removed as soon as it is evident. These should be pruned right after they bloom since they flower on wood that was produced during the previous growing season. These should be pruned in late winter or spring before new growth starts.
Their flowers are borne on wood produced that same year. These should be pruned when they are dormant, typically in late winter or spring, before growth has begun. This includes most deciduous shrubs and shade trees maple, oak, elm , most needled evergreens, and many of the "non-flowering" broadleaved evergreens such as holly. Pruning when deciduous trees are dormant is especially helpful because it allows one to see the form and structure of the tree without the leafy canopy. Some trees "bleed" after pruning.
When should I prune?
Although this actually causes no harm, pruning these trees e. Most trees and shrubs benefit from light to moderate pruning every year or every few years. However, most needled evergreens e. There are many techniques for specialized pruning and the desired outcome is what determines the technique that one would use.
However, the three most basic and useful practices are thinning, heading, and rejuvenation.
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The final goal of any pruning practice is to increase the health and aesthetics without giving the tree or shrub the look of having been pruned. These types of cuts remove entire branches or shoots. All thinning cuts are made at the base of the branch or at ground level Figure 5. These cuts are used to literally "thin" out the plant and stimulate more vigorous growth of the remaining branches. When done properly, the natural shape is maintained. This technique is especially useful for plants that are too dense for example, burning bush.
These cuts shorten but do not remove entire branches or shoots. Heading cuts stimulate the buds on the remaining portion of the branch or shoot to grow Figures 6 and 7. This technique is used to promote a dense, more compact growth habit. It is also used to reduce the overall size or height of a plant. Heading cuts can be used to "shape" the plant by cutting back to inward- vs. In order to maintain the natural growth of the plant, it is important not to top or cut all branches back to the same level.
This leads to excessive, unattractive growth Figures 8 and 9. Ideally, the best pruning often combines both thinning and heading cuts Figure Thinning helps to open the center and heading helps to control the size and height. Again, the goal is not to look pruned!
Plant pruning for beginners | Homelife
This is a very useful but daunting method of pruning. It is the most severe of all pruning methods. Rejuvenation pruning is typically used on older plants that are too large, overgrown, or are "leggy" and sparse.
There are two methods:. Before doing a rejuvenation pruning, there are several important factors that need consideration. It is very important to know how the plant in question will respond to this procedure. Most broadleaved evergreens such as rhododendron, mountain laurel, and pieris respond well to this procedure provided they are in good health. Most deciduous shrubs can be rejuvenated as long as they are generally in good health; privet responds very well. Those that have the ability to initiate new growth on needle-less wood are candidates for rejuvenation pruning such as yew and arborvitae.
Examples of these include juniper, hemlock, and chamaecyparis. In most cases, if rejuvenation pruning is the anticipated goal, it is important to fertilize the plant in late fall the fall prior to spring pruning or to fertilize right after the rejuvenation pruning. The ability of the plant to respond to this procedure depends upon sound cultural care both before and after. Watering, mulching, and follow-up pruning during the summer are critical to the recovery of the plant after rejuvenation pruning.
Consider the immediate impact of this procedure on the aesthetics of the landscape. Once the procedure is done, recovery may take several years. One third of the top growth is cut back each year.
When to prune your plants
For example, if the shrub has 9 main branches, one would cut 3 the 1 st year, 3 more the 2 nd year, and the remaining 3 the 3 rd year. There are two basic types of pruning methods for hedges-- formal and informal or natural Figure Formal hedges are usually sheared and have a defined, controlled shape. Informal or natural hedges are usually pruned and have a shape that is determined by the natural growth habit of the plant used in the hedge.
It is necessary to start pruning to develop the hedge the first year. This is very important since you need to encourage full, low growth right from the start. It is often difficult to try to make a dense hedge after plants have been allowed to grow without any pruning for several years. The shape of the hedge is very important and all hedges need to be wider at the bottom than the top.
This is true for both formal and informal types. The triangular shape helps to expose more of the plant to light and eliminates sparse, twiggy growth at the base Figure However, before doing any pruning, you need to be aware of the type of tree or shrub that you have. There are two categories of needled evergreens based on their branching pattern: These have no buds on needle-less shoots so you would only prune to active , needled shoots.
Examples include pine, spruce, fir, Douglas fir, juniper, and chamaecyparis. There are two types of random-branching needled evergreens. Those that have latent buds-- these can be pruned back to wood without needles. Examples are yew and arborvitae. Figures are available upon request. Douglas or Sharon. Armed with an understanding of the basics of pruning and the proper tools, pruning should lose some of its anxiety and confusion and become a routine component of any landscape maintenance program.
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