pruning – Page 2 – Xtremehorticulture

Boxwood Hedge Slower to Recover From Pruning Damage Than Rosemary

Leave a Comment / bare wood, boxwood, hedge pruning, hedge shears, pruning, repair, rosemary / xtremehorticulture

Q. I have a neighbor concerned about his rosemary and boxwood hedges. The foliage has been falling off. Landscapers recommend he cut them to the ground to get them to recover but he opted to cut them back halfway instead. Now there is a lot of bare wood exposed with no leaves. What should he do to help them recover? A. When plants are continuously pruned with a hedge shears it causes them to get thick and bushy. This increases their leaf density on the outer edges of the hedge. This causes the interior of the hedge to become very dark and the stems on the inside of the hedge to drop their leaves. They also drop their leaves because the wood on the inside is old. All the new growth occurs where the hedge is being cut over and over. So perhaps only an inch or two along the outer surface of the hedge has leaves. If we cut the hedge back more than a couple of inches, we expose the older wood that has no leaves. The wood is alive, but without leaves. Once this interior wood begins to receive sunlight again, new growth will sprout from this older wood. The rate of growth from this older wood depends on the plant. Rosemary grows faster than boxwood. If he is patient, he will eventually start to see new growth coming from the older wood. Boxwood will also have new growth but will fill in slower than rosemary. If he is patient both hedges will eventually slowly fill back in but boxwood will be much slower. In cases like these most people do not want to look at an ugly the hedge for the next few years and would elect to replace the damaged plants. Once plants are cut with hedge shears for a few years over and over they are very difficult to reestablish again as plants that are not shaped like a hedge.

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Should a License Be Required to Carry a Hedge Shears?

2 Comments / bad pruning, butchering, hedges, Las Vegas, Mohave Desert, Mojave Desert, nevada, pruning, pruning shrubs, topping / xtremehorticulture

What was not forseen in the advent of desert landscaping was the dramatic change in pruning techniques brought in by the landscape industry. Hand pruners and loppers were gone. Hedge shears were in. I was heavily involved in bringing good desert landscaping into Las Vegas in the 1980’s. It was part of my job. One of the big advantages touted for desert landscaping was the reduction in maintenance by about 30% because lawns were either removed or shrunken in size. Lawns represented the most maintenance in a landscape. What was not forseen was the dramatic change in pruning techniques brought in by the landscape industry. Hand pruners and loppers were gone. Hedge shears were in. Nice looking, formal hedge. This is where the hedge shears should be used. The top of the hedge should be slightly narrower than the bottom. This gives the larger diameter wood at the base a chance to maintain leaf cover for a longer period of time and allows for better light reception at the base. Hedgeshears Logic. I have never understood the logic of using a hedge shears to prune anything but a hedge. But they are. Commercially it fits the “blow and go” logic of the current landscape industry. Manually operated hedge shears by Corona. I like Corona shears of most types, and even their hedge shears, but it is over-used in commercial and home landscapes. Even Corona would not endorse the extent to which it is used. You carry a hedge shears around and you use it to make everything look like a ball. The “trimmings” from the shrubs are picked up and hauled off to the landfill (at least in Las Vegas). Landscape shrubs about three years into hedge shearing. They have started to become “twiggy” and their multiple trunks are becoming exposed. If there is anything to “blow”, the guy carrying the gas engine-driven, cacophonous blower comes in some time later and finishes the cleanup. Landscape workers will start “blowing” on commercial properties where noise problems are not much of a problem, in the dark with headlamps, at 5 am or earlier. Some used have “night vision” capability. Arguably, these are the “Rambo” landscaper types (aka like the camos). One headlamp preferred by landscape workers Landscape in the early stages of hedge shearing. Some of these can still be corrected. The big advantages for landscape service companies using hedge shears is that it requires carrying only one piece of equipment, very little training required so almost anyone can do it, the results of hedge shearing are immediately seen by the customer and it requires numerous repeat shearings during the season. Disadvantages. The disadvantages to the customer are not seen at first and sometimes not cared about. Plants that produce flowers on new season growth, like Texas Ranger and oleander, have their potential new flowers removed. The plants are neatly “hedged” but flower production is later in the season than normal and usually very sparse because new growth is continuously removed. Second, most plants pruned with hedge shears are pruned into an unnatural shape. This means more work is needed to keep them in this shape (repeat shearing during the season). Third, the aesthetics of these plants are ruined in about five years. Shearing makes them “leggy” so that you see alot of bare, thick stems at the base and they lose their leaf cover. Basically they get ugly. At this point most plants cannot be “corrected” and they must be replaced. If replacing plants every five years is in your business plan then hedge shearing is for you! This is what eventually begins to happen to shrubs that are continuously hedge sheared. Large stems at the base get larger and larger and lose their “ability” to produce shoots that can carry leaves. Fourth, bare wood on the stems at the base is open to damage from sunburn and infestation by borers (if they are susceptible to borers). Correct pruning of shrubs that are not to be used as a formal hedge is near the ground, removing 1 to 3 of the oldest stems if there are only a few of them. More than this may be removed if there oodles of these stems. Plants will show you where to cut them if you just look. This is oleander for example. At the base of oleander there are some “suckers” aka watersprouts, emerging from some short stubs that were left from last year’s pruning. This is a very good sign that if you were to prune oleander stems low to the ground that they will sucker and send up all new shoots. This is a closeup of the base of the very same shrub. Notice the cut stub left from last years pruning cut. This person had the right idea but cut the wrong stem!. Leave the young ones. Cut the oldest ones the same way and let them sucker up to fill in the bottom. Do this on one or two of the oldest stems every other year and you will fill the shrub with blooms top to bottom and you will not see any of the base of the plant. Two cuts = ten seconds. Pickup time = ten seconds. Do not use the hedge shears on this plant. If there are alot of stems then follow the 1/4 rule. Remove about 1/4 of the oldest stems every 1 to 3 years depending on how juvenile you want your shrub to be and how tall you want it. This type of pruning is needed from 1 to 3 years depending on how vigorously the shrub grows. level and pruning is every two to three years. If you are not sure what will happen to the plant cut just one stem back near to the ground and see what happens. If it suckers up, do a couple more. It will not be too late. You could do this easily until about March or even April. Cleanup is easy. You collect

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Still Afraid to Prune Your Lantana?

Leave a Comment / lantana, lantana camara, lantana montevidensis, Las Vegas, Mohave Desert, Mojave Desert, nevada, pruning / xtremehorticulture

You may have either the purple lantana or the multi-colored lantana. Most of it died back during the winter. But where to cut? What if I cut it back too far. Will I kill it? Even in February you still have time. This is lantana that has been cut back. Notice how the new growth (late January or early February just after a warm spell) is growing now. It is growing from “joints” along the stems we prefer to call “nodes”. These are places which can have alot of plant tissue that can regrow after the plant has been damaged. In this case it is “damage” either by winter cold or by pruning. Cut lantana back close to the ground so that you leave at least two “joints” left sticking up out of the ground. Lantana is now starting to regrow from the base now in early February. It is not obvious. If you look closely at yours you will see some new growth emerging very close to the ground. The plant will “tell you” where to cut. Cut 1/4 to 3/8 inch above a node. If you are in a cold and windy part of town you will experience winter dieback of the plant closer to the ground so you will have to prune it with fewer “joints” left.

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Not Too Late to Trim and Fertilize Lantana

Leave a Comment / camara, desert, how to prune, lantana, Las Vegas, Mohave Desert, Mojave Desert, montevideo, nevada, pruning, when to prune / xtremehorticulture

We generally grow two types of lantana in the landscapes in southern Nevada; the purple one and the one that is multi-colored, usually with some yellow and rose or pink flowers. Both are handled about the same way in watering, pruning and fertilizing. Multi-colored lantana (L. camara) but at this point only showing just yellow flowers but can change to orange or pink later. The flowers can vary in color. This is the purple species (L. montevidensis) sometimes called trailing lantana or weeping lantana. It was collected and propagated for sale near Montevideo, Uruguay, hence the Latin name. Come take a tour of Montevideo and see where L. montevidensis came from Both of these plants came out of South America, around Bolivia, Peru and Uruguay area where it does not freeze where it is a widespread native. Not truly a ‘desert’ plant but tolerates dry or semiarid environments near the coastline. It is now widely planted all over the tropics and subtropical parts of the world where it does not freeze back in the winter. It showed some promise in the desert and arid parts of the southern US and now is quite common. Some people would say now it is over planted but it still gives a nice show of color in the summer with little care. It will freeze back here and rebound in the spring. Pruning or Cutting the Back. The purple lantana is common now and I get alot of questions about how far back you can trim them. Take a close look at this picture. I took it a short time back when I first saw green coming from a winter pruned shrub.They can get kind of lanky and loose some eye appeal as well as die back in our colder climate so many people cut them back in the winter. It is always a good idea to wait until the coldest part of the winter has past before you cut them back or the may freeze back further. Lantana pruned back. This is fine. See how the new growth is coming from the “joints” or “nobs” on the stems? These are nodes where buds or stems were located. They are places that contain the potential for new growth. Cut them back leaving a couple of these or more between your cut and the ground. Then they will have these spots to generate some new growth for this season. Fertilizer. Just before the really start pushing some new growth (late January or even into Februray), fertilize them. Liquid fertilizers like Miracle Gro or Peters do a great job as long as you apply enough water when the plant is growing. Less expensive fertilizers will work as well but just make sure you use one that is used for flowers or tomatoes or other flowering plants. You can apply the fertilizer dissolved or diluted in water in a plastic bucket and pour it slowly around the plants or you can apply it dry just under the drip emitters. One application is normally enough until next year. Never apply it after about August or you could affect how much winter dieback you get. It normally does not need any iron added but doesn’t hurt either. Hmmm…. none say to use on Lantana! What do I do now? You like the flowers. Promote the flowers. Use a fertilizer that promotes flowers. So you can use tomato fertilizer or rose fertilizer as a substitute. What’s wrong with this lantana? Just TLC; water, soil improvement and fertilizer. AND it was planted too close to the curb. It should be back in about three feet. It’s growing toward the south where there is more light and probably the one emitter it has.

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Remove Suckers Coming From Rootstock on Loquat

Leave a Comment / desert, Las Vegas, loquat sucker, Mohave Desert, Mojave Desert, nevada, pruning / xtremehorticulture

Not sure if I should remove growth below the graft from a Loquat tree. Q. I have a loquat tree that is a few years old. I let it grow without any pruning so far. I did notice one of the branches growing from beneath what appears to be a graft union. Normally I remove any growth from below the graft as I do on my other fruit trees. That particular branch has new growth just starting. I was hoping this branch would give me the balance I needed since it was growing outward where there is an open space. Not sure if I should cut growth below the graft from a Loquat tree. Sucker coming from rootstock on loquat. You can see the bud union above it. A. From the picture you sent to me I can see this sucker is coming from the rootstock. Loquat is normally grafted on to a rootstock that is either not a loquat or the rootstock plant is inferior in fruit quality to the one you purchased. Very healthy young loquat This sucker must be removed. Even if you could keep it, how it is attached to the trunk is weak and will split from the tree when the limb gets heavier from fruit or size. Fruit of loquat Loquats do nicely here and have some great fruit. Try to keep it out of late afternoon sun and don’t prune it too much so that the canopy is open. It will sunburn and you will have borers in the tree.

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Acacia Damaged by Low Temperatures and How to Remove Limbs

2 Comments / pruning, removing large limbs, shoulder / xtremehorticulture

Q. Any advice on Acacia trees would be great. These trees took a hit when the temps dropped to the 20’s in December. I see new growth, but mostly on the suckers. Should I leave the suckers there or remove them? What is the best thing to do to help these trees recover? A. This is more complicated. First you will remove any wood you know is dead. By now (June), any part of the tree which is still alive should have thrown out some growth. Remove any limbs that are dead (no growth coming from them) by cutting at point of attachment to another limb or the trunk. You should not leave any stubs when you are done. If the limb is large and heavy, you should remove it by either removing sections of the limb at a time that are manageable or use a technique that we sometimes call the 1-2-3 method. This is demonstrated pretty good on removing a limb on wikihow. Here is our sequence of cuts at the Orchard. Cut number 1 is made upward about a foot from where the final cut will be made. The second cut is made downward a few inches away and to the outside of the first upward cut. The weight of the large limb causes the limb to begin splitting when it falls. The split occurs from the outside second cut to the upward first cut. The prevents the limb from splitting down the side of the branch and into the trunk. This is a look at the limb that has split from the branch and now lies on the ground. The third and final cut in the 1-2-3 limb removal sequence is made at the proper distance from the trunk. This leaves the trunk/limb “shoulder” in place and finds the balance between the smallest cut possible and not leaving a stub. The cut is left to heal on its own and no coating or sealer is used. This is a different tree but gives you an idea of what the “shoulder” looks like and where it might be located on a much smaller limb. Next, remove any broken branches. They will not repair themselves. Remove any wild or “sucker” growth. This type of growth usually has weak attachment to the trunk and not support itself in years to come. Remove any growth coming from the trunk that is not high enough in the future. This growth will not get any higher and as it gets bigger will “sag” or bend downward perhaps into places where you can bang your head. Remove these by making a “flesh cut” in other words remove it all and don’t leave a stub. Finally thin out the remaining branches so that any dead wood is removed (again by making “thinning cut” which is the same as in the third sentence, removing it at a point of attachment without leaving a stub.) Try to have the remaining branches going in different directions to help balance the crown visually. I hope this helps. By the way, I would do any major limb removal next early spring after the worst temperatures have passed. Minor cuts (with a hand shears) can be done any time.

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Mesquite Bushes Can Be Trained to a Tree

Leave a Comment / form, growth, honey mesquite, irrigation, management, pruning, riparian, training, watering / xtremehorticulture

Q. I grew up in a part of Texas where mesquites were bushes not trees. We have a small backyard here in Vegas with two mesquite trees in it; one large one and one slender one. There is little or no green on them, just wood. There are so many woody branches I am wondering if they will ever give us shade. Would you please educate me on this? Native honey mesquite growing in the Mojave Desert just outside of Las Vegas, NV A. The Texas mesquite or honey mesquite is a shrub that we prune into a tree form. The plant grows well here but is usually not a preferred type of mesquite because of its long thorns. There are improved types of mesquites that are usually preferred. With a little bit of care when they are young they can be trained into a tree form. In our climate many mesquites drop their leaves in winter and so are considered deciduous to semi evergreen due to winter cold. In warmer climates they tend to stay evergreen during the winter unless there is a cold spell. One of the ornamental mesquites in the nursery trade, claimed to be thornless, showing dense canopy and shade, a sign of abundant water. We consider our local mesquite to be a riparian species of plant. In other words it puts on growth when water is available and slows down when water is not. When mesquite trees are watered frequently they can put on large amounts of spindly growth, perhaps 8 feet or more each year. Mesquite are normally very deep rooted plants in the wild. Being deep-rooted gives them the capability of avoiding long periods of time without water. For this reason they can be very drought tolerant if they have rooted deeply. Native mesquite growing in the Sonoran Desert near Jerez, Mex, demonstrating sinker roots tapping into deep water from a nearby river. If mesquite trees are watered too often, their roots will tend to be shallow and not deep-rooted, a frequent problem in over-irrigated landscapes. They also tend to put on a lot of wood because of frequent irrigations. Mesquite trees handle pruning very well and their growth is very adaptable to landscape management. They do well with light fertilizer applications annually. They should be grouped with other desert plants for irrigation purposes. After training these plants into a tree form they do not require a lot of pruning. In fact heavy pruning just encourages a lot of new growth. I would remove lower branches just high enough to allow traffic to pass under them. Frequent irrigations will cause these plants to be lush and provide dense shade. Watering less often will cause them to become more open and provide lighter shade. Remove branches that are crossing or growing too close together. Limbs would be removed at their point of origin, not by hedging or simply cutting them back.

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Does My Bottletree Need Pruning?

1 Comment / brachychiton populneus, pruning / xtremehorticulture

Q. First of all, thank you for your Gardening Q&A in the Review Journal. I have found it to be most helpful in establishing my garden in Nevada. It is a constant learning experience to find what will grow best with the considerations of water and what the rabbits won’t eat. I have questions regarding the Australian Bottle Tree in our front yard. (see attached pictures). Should we trim and shape the tree? It has grown to a considerable height. The wind, appearance, and mostly health of the tree are our concerns. Does the cracking and area of darkness on the trunk need addressing? And should I wrap the trunk in winter? We are at 3000 feet in Anthem and sometimes have a slightly lower winter temperature range. A. Very nice looking tree. Personally, I would not do anything to it. I know it may not look picture perfect but that is what can be charming about native trees used in our environment. As it grows more it will naturally fill in some of the void’s. You could prune it to shape it a bit but be very careful when you do this and do not change it radically or the plant will respond the way it wants to and you may not like it. You could identify some of the tallest limbs and bring the height of the tree back down so that it’s similar to the rest. Shaping probably shouldn’t have occurred a little bit earlier and you could have avoided some of this but you could do some light pruning on this tree if you want to. That is your call and I know that you may not be entirely pleased with its informal look. But don’t do anything dramatic to it or you could end up with some problems such as sunburn on the lower limbs and some die back. If you are going to do it, do it this winter and do it yourself or hire someone who has a good reputation with shaping trees. This tree is a focal point on your property.

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Can I Prune My Shoestring Acacia Now?

Leave a Comment / pruning, pruning trees, shoulder, time of year, where to make pruning cuts / xtremehorticulture

Q. I planted a shoestring last Spring, and it is doing well. It has five lower limbs off of the main trunk and one of them is all most as long as the tree is tall. I was wondering if I can cut them off this Fall? They are so low they will be removed eventually any way. If I remove them will it help the main trunk to grow faster? Will it hurt the tree to cut them off now? A. There are several things you can do about this. You will not hurt the tree to remove a few limbs (particularly lower ones) now. When I went to school and studied arboriculture, my professor would say two things I will never forget; the best time to prune is when the pruners are sharp AND if you know how to prune, you can prune using only your thumbnail. I have always strived in learning how to prune, what he meant by that. As time passed, I slowly learned. In the desert we have to be a bit more careful in pruning because our environment is so harsh but the principles he taught me are still valid. Remove tree limbs very close to the trunk, making the cut with a sharp, clean and preferably sterilized pruning shears. Make the cut leaving a tiny bump (called the shoulder) intact on the trunk. Don’t cut flush to the tree trunk. The shoulder of a limb attached to the trunk and where to make the cut in relation to the shoulder. Let me explain better where to cut. If you look at the limb, where it attaches to the trunk, you will see that it flare (become wider) at its base, at a point where it attaches to the trunk. Cut with the smallest cut possible but as close to this flair as you can. Do not leave a stub. Leaving this flair intact on the tree trunk is NOT leaving a stub.This type of cut, not cutting into the flair, will heal much faster than if you cut or remove the flair. You do not need pruning paint. If limbs are too long, yes, go ahead and cut them back now. Not a problem. You just do not want to make major cuts that change the basic structure of the tree now which opens it up to sunlight that might damage the limbs and trunk through sunburn. The fewer side branches or limbs you have (within reason), the faster the tree will grow in height. So remove smaller, weaker limbs or branches at the trunk. You can do that now as well.

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Center of Cassia Bush Died. What to Do?

Leave a Comment / dead center, pruning, ugly, when to prune / xtremehorticulture

Q. I have a cassia at the corner of my house to block the street view of my air conditioning unit. The whole center section visible from the street has died. I’m beginning to cut out the dead limbs. I check the cuts but am not seeing any green at the bark. Is there a chance that partially cut back limbs might still produce new growth? Or should I cut back to the main trunk? With no center section it looks ugly. Can I hope the living branches will fill in eventually? Dig it out and replant with a new one? One of the cassias and what it should look like with proper care as it is getting at the Las Springs Preserve A. Yes it is possible you had some winter kill but doesn’t sound like winter kill. Winter kill is most common on new growth, such as the tips of branches, if temperatures are just below their tolerance. If temperatures a considerably below their tolerance, then you will see death also in the older, larger diameter wood. This is what a cassia will look like armed with hedge shears, improper watering and lack of fertilizer 5 years after planting. It is odd if it is just damaging the interior wood and leaving other parts of the plant alone. Another possibility is root rot if it is watered too often or the area is flooded. This should be fairly easy to determine by pulling the top of the plant toward you and looking at the base of the plant. In cases of root rot, trees and shrubs the plant will not be securely anchored in the soil. When you pull on it the base will move around and not be firmly anchored in the soil. In healthy plants that are not winter damaged you should be able to scrape the soft outer bark with your fingernail and see green beneath it. This is not easy to see in all plants. But at least the inner bark should be cream colored or white. So I would not cut anything back at this time. If there is winter damage then the killing temperatures already “pruned” it back. If the plant or plant parts are alive they will show you where to cut after new growth emerges. When it emerges, cut a few inches below the dead part of the limb and into the strong growth, just above a bud or at a crotch (where two stems come together). If you don’t see any new growth by mid-April, then it is dead. Whether to remove it or not is really a subjective call and not one I can direct. It is your call. With an established root system it should grow back very rapidly and will fill in the spots where there is strong sunlight.

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