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Pruning: Hedges
Hedges which are allowed to grow naturally require but little pruning, except the removal of dead and diseased wood and the checking of any portion that becomes too rampant or destroys symmetry. It often becomes desirable in the development of hedge plants to keep the growth within certain well-defined limits of height, after the plants have become a few years old. This requires judicious pruning, consisting of the removal of many of the older branches each year, but never a heavy shearing which cuts the entire top of the plant, regardless of the size or age of the branches, to a fixed height. Hedges which are trimmed formally should be kept uniform in height and thickness. One late winter and two or three summer prunings during the growing season are better than one heavy pruning yearly. Hedges will do best if kept in a flattened ovoid shape with the widest part at the base (Plate V). In this way all the leaf surface will receive a more nearly equal portion of light, and leaves will grow PRUNING down to the ground. It is preferable to have the top rounded rather than flat. Remember that a portion of the current year's growth must be left on the plants when pruning.
If privet hedges are winter-killed partially or wholly, or girdled by animals, they should be cut back to four or six inches above the ground. A hedge, when newly planted, should be cut back severely, often to within twelve inches of the ground. This is necessary in order to secure thick growth at the base.
TOPIARY EFFECTS. The operation of pruning to produce topiary effects is one that requires much more careful attention and more frequent pruning than almost any other type of pruning work, with the exception of possibly some hedges such as privet hedges, where it is necessary to maintain a constant, even effect. The yew and boxwood which are used for the most permanent effects in topiary work can be pruned to best advantage during the latter part of June and the early part of July, at which time all the new growth should be cut back as far as the older growth, which consists of darker green leaves. This allows opportunity for new shoots to develop within the old growth and thicken the mass. Many plants used for such topiary effects as ovals, spheres, pyramids, cones, spirals, etc., can be given a thorough trimming when the trees are young. The subsequent growth (if the loose-growing tips are kept cut back) will continue to increase the dimensions of these designs in an interesting way. The key to successful topiary effects is the accurate shape to which the tree is trimmed when the first pruning work on the specimen is undertaken. SHRUBS. Ornamental flowering shrubs may be pruned at any season of the year if no consideration is given to the question of flower production. Wounds made by pruning will heal, however, better during the growing season. Late summer pruning will sometimes encourage a new and vigorous growth which does not thoroughly ripen during the late summer and fall months, and is consequently exposed to the danger of winter-killing. Late summer pruning should accordingly not be practised especially on semi-hardy plants. During wet seasons, and when plants are over-supplied with food, summer pruning may be resorted to, in order to restrain succulent and weak growth.
Many shrubs possess a greater or less value for their flowering habits. The following are a series of memorandums explanatory of the drawings shown on Plate No. V, illustrating various methods of pruning trees and shrubs.
A A-1 A-2 A-3 A-4 B-1 B-2 C-1 C-2 A large, overgrown, and "leggy" shrub with some new long shoots growing from the base of the plant. In such overgrown plants as these all of the wood which produces flowers is in the top branches at the ends of the old wood and the shrub presents a very bare effect at its base.
The same shrub as shown under "A", but pruned for the purpose of allowing new shoots to develop from the base of the shrub and to permit a new top at a normal height, thus renovating the entire shrub during a period of two or three years.
The same shrub as in "A", showing its development after proper pruning. This produces new flowering wood and a more natural and even development of the entire shrub, which insures a better bloom and a more satisfactory effect. The same shrub as under "A", but incorrectly pruned or "sheared" in accordance with the method of unintelligently removing all wood, new and old, at a uniform height, irrespective of flowering habits or other habits of growth of the shrub. The same shrub as under "A", showing the development in its growth after incorrect pruning (A-3). Note that most of the new growth has developed on the old wood, producing a broom effect at the top and a "leggy" condition at the base of the shrub. Such plants cannot grow normally or produce normal flower effects.
This illustration shows the correct method of pruning hybrid tea roses in order to produce large individual blooms. The portion in light lines shows the branches to be removed.
This illustration shows the hybrid tea rose pruned to produce an abundance of flowers but not necessarily large individual blooms. The portion in light lines shows the branches to be removed.
This illustration shows the correct series of cuts to be made in removing large branches at a point close to the trunk of the trees (I is the first cut to be made, or the under cut. 2 is the second cut to be made, or the upper cut. 3 is the final cut to be made, or the close cut). Note also the healing over of a correctly made cut.
This illustration shows the incorrect method of making a cut in one operation, frequently causing the splitting down of the branch. Note also the attempt to heal an incorrect cut, which was not made sufficiently close to the trunk. The bark on such cuts dies back to the trunk and the new healing bark cannot grow over the wound.