Home Gardener's Pruning (UK Only). David Squire
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Название: Home Gardener's Pruning (UK Only)
Автор: David Squire
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Сад и Огород
Серия: Specialist Guide
isbn: 9781607652434
isbn:
Below are examples of the positions of cuts in relation to a bud, as well as using blunt pruning shears. The position of the cut on the extreme left is the ideal, where a sloping cut is about ¼ in (6 mm) above a bud.
CUTS FOR FRUIT TREES
In the same way as for roses, the perfect cut has a slight slope and is just above a bud. The texture of wood on a fruit tree is usually denser and harder than on a rose and it is essential that pruning shears are sharp.
Below are examples of the positions of cuts in relation to a bud, as well as using blunt pruning shears. The position of the cut on the extreme left is the ideal.
Philosophy of pruning shrubs
For many flowering shrubs, yearly pruning is essential to encourage the regular development of flowers. There are some that need only the occasional cutting-out of dead, aged and crossing stems, but for others the removal of flowered stems encourages the further development of flowering shoots. A few shrubs need just the removal of dead flowerheads. If pruning is neglected, a shrub’s ability to produce attractive flowers is diminished.
Do shrubs need regular pruning?
PRUNING SHRUBS: THE GENERAL IDEA
For many shrubs, the purpose of pruning is to remove old, dead and crossing shoots, as well as those that produced flowers. This encourages the development of fresh shoots.
PRUNING EVERGREEN SHRUBS
These are clothed in leaves throughout the year, with new ones being formed and old ones falling off. Do not prune evergreens in winter; mid- or late spring is the best time, just when growth is beginning. However, if the plant is flowering, defer pruning until the blooms fade. The usual reasons for pruning evergreen shrubs are to create shapely plants and to prevent them crowding out their neighbors.
Examples of evergreen shrubs include Berberis darwinii, Viburnum tinus, Hollies, Olearia x haastii, Choisya ternata, Phillyreas and most Escallonias.
EARLY-FLOWERING SHRUBS
Early-flowering deciduous shrubs – flowering from spring to mid-summer – are pruned as soon as their flowers fade. This gives a shrub a long period during the rest of summer and into early autumn in which to produce fresh shoots that will ripen and be frost-hardy by winter. From spring to midsummer of the following year these shrubs bear flowers on new stems.
Examples of early-flowering deciduous shrubs include Deutzias, Philadelphus, Ribes (Flowering Currants), Weigelas and Syringa (Lilacs).
Details of pruning these shrubs are given on pages 20–39.
Prune early-flowering shrubs as soon as their flowers fade, cutting out old, dead, crossing and flowered shoots.
EVERGREENS FOR FLOWER ARRANGEMENTS
Many evergreen shrubs are in demand by flower arrangers, especially during winter when there is a shortage of other plants. When cutting foliage, always take shoots from the back of the plant and select them from several different positions. Use pruning shears to cut stems just above a leaf-joint.
LATE SUMMER-FLOWERING SHRUBS
Late summer-flowering deciduous shrubs are pruned during the following late spring. This encourages the development of shoots that will bear flowers later in the same year. If these shrubs were pruned as soon as their flowers faded in late summer or early autumn, any shoots that developed from the cuts could be damaged or killed by cold winter weather.
Examples of late summer-flowering deciduous shrubs include the popular Buddleja davidii (still often known as Buddleia davidii; Butterfly Bush), Ceanothus ‘Gloire de Versailles’ and Tamarix pentandra (Tamarisk). Incidentally, do not confuse this Tamarisk with the related Tamarix tetrandra, which flowers in spring and should be pruned as soon as the flowers have faded.
Details of pruning late summer-flowering deciduous shrubs are given on pages 20–39.
Prune Buddleja davidii (Butterfly Bush) in late spring, radically cutting out all stems.
WINTER-FLOWERING SHRUBS
Winter-flowering deciduous shrubs need little pruning. When young, prune them to shape to create an attractive outline. Later in their lives – as soon as their display is over, usually by early spring – cut out congested stems and those that have become diseased or damaged by severe weather. If left, they encourage decay to infect and damage other parts of the shrub. Keep the shrub’s center open so that light and air can enter. Incidentally, it is easier to control the size of winter-flowering shrubs than any other type.
Examples of winter-flowering deciduous shrubs include Hamamelis mollis, Cornus mas and Viburnum x bodnantense.
Details of pruning winter-flowering shrubs are given on pages 20–39.
PRUNING A DOGWOOD
Several Dogwoods are grown for their colored stems, which are especially welcome in winter when they are free from leaves and low light can glance off them. Unless these plants are radically pruned in spring by cutting them right down to within 3 in (7.5 cm) of the ground, they will not produce their annual display. Shrubs to look for with attractive colored stems include Cornus alba ‘Elegantissima’ (red stems), C. alba ‘Sibirica’ (bright crimson stems), C. alba ‘Kesselringii’ (purplish-black stems) and Cornus sericea ‘Flaviramea’ (bright greenish-yellow stems); also known as Cornus stolonifera ‘Flaviramea.’
Severely pruning a Dogwood encourages the development of young, colorful stems from its base.
Dealing with reversion
Occasionally, some variegated plants have stems that revert to an all-green СКАЧАТЬ