Gardeners’ hands start twitching in February as we anticipate digging in warming soil, just a month or so away. What to do with busy hands? I know. How about pruning some of your deciduous summer and fall blooming shrubs that have put on a ‘tad too much weight’ in recent years, or totally overgrown their space? Late February or the month of March are great times to grab a sharp pruning tool and go at it. But don’t take me too literally – by go at it, I mean selectively removing branches, a little at a time. Step back every so often and see how the plant is shaping up. It will be easy to tell, since there are no leaves and the plant’s framework is obvious. A general rule of thumb is not to remove more than 1/3 of the wood in one season.
Make a clean cut (done with a sharp tool. My pruners of choice have always been by Corona) right above where a stem joins a branch or a smaller branch intersects a larger one. Many shrubs also benefit from an interior pruning, removing some of the branches from inside the shrub to open up more air flow, increase light, and reduce energy being ‘wasted’ on scruffy growth. Some of the shrubs you may want to ‘address’ are Rose of Sharon, panicle hydrangeas – both shrub and tree forms (Hydrangea paniculata), smooth hydrangeas (Hydrangea arborescens), many shrub roses, spirea and potentilla. (photo courtesy of EverChangingGarden.com, a fun site!)
Gardeners’ hands start twitching in February as we anticipate digging in warming soil, just a month or so away. What to do with busy hands? I know. How about pruning some of your deciduous summer and fall blooming shrubs that have put on a ‘tad too much weight’ in recent years, or totally overgrown their space? Late February or the month of March are great times to grab a sharp pruning tool and go at it. But don’t take me too literally – by go at it, I mean selectively removing branches, a little at a time. Step back every so often and see how the plant is shaping up. It will be easy to tell, since there are no leaves and the plant’s framework is obvious. A general rule of thumb is not to remove more than 1/3 of the wood in one season.
Make a clean cut (done with a sharp tool. My pruners of choice have always been by Corona) right above where a stem joins a branch or a smaller branch intersects a larger one. Many shrubs also benefit from an interior pruning, removing some of the branches from inside the shrub to open up more air flow, increase light, and reduce energy being ‘wasted’ on scruffy growth. Some of the shrubs you may want to ‘address’ are Rose of Sharon, panicle hydrangeas – both shrub and tree forms (Hydrangea paniculata), smooth hydrangeas (Hydrangea arborescens), many shrub roses, spirea and potentilla. (photo courtesy of EverChangingGarden.com, a fun site!)