Now that we have covered 3 out of the 4 major categories of plants and their unique pruning issues we’ll discuss working with the evergreen family. We have covered pruning Shade Trees, Flowering Trees, Flowering Shrubs and now the final group of plants- Evergreens.
The reason we’re talking about the evergreens last is that we can’t or shouldn’t do that pruning now but coming up near the end of March is a good time for shrub type evergreens and later in June for evergreen trees. The shrub type evergreens are junipers, yews, and arborvitaes. Evergreen trees are the pines and spruce. The tree types are often not pruned at all but we can have a better plant if we do some pruning when they are young and we can control the size of the slower growing varieties if they are in a planting where the size needs to be controlled.
Here we go….if you look at plantings in the area you will see plants that have not been maintained and are too big. The time to take action is when the plants are young and do “selective” pruning annually. It is best to plant the right plant by making your purchases from someone that can help select the right plant for the area where it is going to be growing. Once that is done and the plant is growing well it is a matter of time when pruning will be necessary. Using your pruning shears remove the larger branches that are developing so young, fresh growth is kept near the outside edge of the shrub.
The plants in the picture have been pruned with hedge shears, and that is fine but only when the “body” of the plant is in proportion to the location where it is growing. These yews growing up and covering the windows can be saved by pruning them back 6”-12” below the window sill. This type of “rescue” pruning needs to be done just before new growth begins in the spring. Late March or by the middle of April is the best time so the harsh pruning is soon covered up by new growth. The over sized arbovitae at the corner of this home is too large to save and should be replaced with a smaller plant that will not out-grow the area.
The larger growing evergreens, like pines and spruce, can be kept full by “pinching” the “new candle” growth back by 1/3 to ½ of the candle when it is developing in the late spring. All of our pines and spruce trees in this area respond well to this treatment, keeping the young plants developing a compact habit so as they mature they are a much fuller plant.
For more information go to http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/430/430-457/430-457.html and look at Virginia Techs publication 430-457, Pruning Evergreen Trees.
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Meadow View Growers
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