Winter is the perfect time to rejuvenate and manage your dormant woody plants
Despite erratic atmospheric condition patterns in thePacific Northwestduring the cold month of the class , winter is an excellent time to take care of pruning your trees and shrubs . Earlycold snapsand blow or extended mild temperatures can leave many of the plants feeling lost . In mild years , some deciduouswoody plantscan still have their leafage in mid to lateDecember . But once the leaves are finally go , and through late wintertime , it ’s the perfect time to assess the human body of individual trees and shrubs and bust out yourpruners , loppers , and even chainsaw for a piffling pruning . Below you ’ll find out some specialized pruning techniques that can help rejuvenate your plants and ensure that they grow well in the approaching time of year .
Drastic measures: Winter is an excellent time for stooling
While there are several types of pruning style and method , wintertime is the best time for renovation pruning — concentrated or radical pruning done to tame or rejuvenate industrial plant . The reason this timing is better is because the trees and shrubs are dormant , and they do n’t answer with vigorous young growth after the winter pruning . Plus , the peril of insect pest and disease bodily function threatening the health of the industrial plant is abject this time of twelvemonth .
full candidates for refurbishment pruning include those shrub that nobble up on us . Sometimes we miss the obvious in our beds — like a bush that look beautiful one solar day and then suddenly seems to be overwhelming its neighbour . This is loose to see in winter . When you make out a shrub that has gotten out of controller , the drastic method of pruning called “ stooling ” is sometimes want . This is when you cut a shrub down to the ground .
During my winter assessment this year , I chance in my garden a Ghost ® weigela ( Weigelaflorida‘Carlton ’ , Zones 4–8 ) crowd a nearby ‘ Susan ’ magnolia ( Magnolia‘Susan ’ , Zones 4–8 ) and neighboring barberries ( Berberisspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–9 ) . It was manifestly time to stool - prune this multistemmed bush . When stool a shrub , I expend a battery - maneuver chainsaw to cut the stems down to about 6 in above the ground . When all the debris is remove , you’re able to see the positive impression this pruning will have on the surrounding bush . This is also a good time to remove dead or traverse leg on those neighboring shrubs , which will respond by filling the unfastened quad with levelheaded new growth during the coming year .
Now is also a good time to deal with suckers
This time of yr is also the best time to look for suckers on plants . Often you will see shoot coming from the bottom of a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree or individual - cauline bush . These can be suckers below a graft ( scion ) from a root livestock or from trees and shrubs that are prone to suckering . If a chump is allowed to continue growing , it will overwhelm the master plant and often do the worthy stem to die off . Suckers must be removed to maintain an uncluttered and modeled plant . Lilacs ( Syringaspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–8 ) are a skillful example of suckering shrubs . They often make dull hedges if suckers are allowed to grow unhindered . take the air through your garden and seem closely at the trunks of trees and shrubs for signs of suckering . Remove any mug that can be pulled out by handwriting , as this will often polish off the growth point from the main plant life . If they are too declamatory to root for off , expend a proverb or paw pruners ( count on the sizing of the sucker ) to snub as close to the trunk or root as potential .
Lift-pruning: Look out for plants being crowded from above too
Another form of crowding to seem for and speech in winter is push at the base of Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and shrub . Ground back and small shrub underneath some of the bigger shrubs and trees can often disappear if the larger woody plants are not kept in check by pruning up , or lift - pruning . Camellias ( Camelliaspp . and cvs . , Zones 6–10 ) are a good example of bush that can have branches hanging down to the priming coat . By cut off some of the low branches , you furnish infinite for smaller shrubs to maturate and bloom . In my garden , I have several types of ferns in my camellia beds that profit from cosmetic surgery - pruning , which gives them more promiscuous . The ferns also provide a marvelous grain as they fill in nicely beneath the bombastic shrubs .
If you have fruit trees and rosebush , January and February are the estimable times to cut those plants in the Northwest . In ecumenical , though , a good dominion of pollex for wintertime pruning is to do it before bud break . Also , do n’t forget to clean up slip and leftover leave of absence , which will help with overall disease bar in the spring and summer . For help with other pruning method , a adept pruning book is indispensable . you may also check outFine Gardening’sProject Guide on Pruning , which is wedge - full of trim how - tos , tip , and resources .
— Susan Calhoun is the owner of Plantswoman Design in Bainbridge Island , Washington .
Photos : courtesy of Susan Calhoun
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This overgrown weigela is in need of renovation pruning.
This overgrown weigela is in need of renovation pruning.
Witch hazels (Hamamelisspp. and cvs., Zones 3–9) often have suckers that need to be pruned. From left to right: the shrub stem before the suckers were removed; the stem after the suckers were removed; the removed suckers.
