Do you have some shrubs or tree branches looming over a window making a room dark or obscuring a view? Have some of your paths become so narrow that the plants brush you when you walk by, or a low hanging tree branch brushes your head? Not so fun on a rainy day! Did you used to have some nice views that have grown closed? This is the time of year to do something about that! But don’t throw the pruned off branches away too fast, there are some surprising uses for them.
Late February to mid March is the time to do major pruning. Any cutting that removes a third or more of a plant’s top growth should be done during the dormant part of the winter cycle, as close to bud break as practical. Since bud break in our variable New England climate can be anywhere from the third week of March to the middle of April, that makes this the time to decide what pruning you would like done.
Take a walk around your house looking out all the windows. Is that favorite old Rhododendron finally completely covered a window? Well that is great if it is the bathroom but otherwise…. Put it on the pruning list. What about the trees. Could you regain a window or a view to the distance by raising the canopy? Then walk around outside jotting down the paths that need widened, open areas that need reclaimed and garden walls that need lowered. Once you have a list put together, you’ll have some fun projects for those oddball 60 degree days we get every once in awhile during the winter.
Knowledgeable pruning is an art and a rewarding one. Once you have mastered a few basic techniques you will be able to care for almost anything, except where size and weight become a safety issue. The one cardinal rule for rejuvenative pruning is to prune from the inside out, NOT the outside in. Cuts should be made just beyond the branch color. Don’t leave more than ¼ inch stub so the plant can callus over the cut. Removing crossing branches and dead wood is always a good choice. Done is this way a plant maintains its natural form and beauty. If you just cut from the top in you get a misshaped plant that has a myriad of ‘Water Sprouts” that fast outgrow the pruning you have done. If you are new to pruning or have not been pleased with the results you have gotten, North Shore Community College offers a good course in pruning. If you would like individual training suited to your schedule, we can come to your home and teach you how to care for the plants in you landscape. That way you can learn what your options are for each plant in your landscape.
Now for the fun bonuses from pruning. The early spring blooming plants set their flower buds before midsummer. All you have to do is bring in the branches, put them in warm water and set them in bright room. Within a few weeks they will be blooming in your house, ready for you to make bouquets. It is fun to bring in some of the evergreen branches and make a bouquet out of them with plenty of the bud holding branches worked into the arrangement. The evergreens usually last 5 or 6 weeks, so when the flowers burst fourth from the dormant branches you will have a brand new arrangement. So if you are pruning Magnolia, Cherry, Crabapple, Daphne, Burning Bush, Forsythia, Coryalopsis, Lilac, Flowering Almond, or any of the things in your yard that bloomed before late May, take them in and share them with a friend or neighbor.
Another great use for the branches you have cut that are 24” or so long is to save them in a pile outside where they will be cool and moist, to stay supple. Then in the spring when you plant peas or annuals that need some support, just push these into the ground about 4” apart and they will make fine supports for your plants. They look natural; soon you won’t even see them once the plants grow up. Best of all its free.
So pruning can be a fun winter pastime for those warm days and provide color for the dreary ones. If you would like some pointers, anything from a one hour consultation to help with the whole job, give us a call at 978-473-9992 or email us at LandscapesbyLillabeth@comcast.net