|
| |
|
Shaping up with Winter Pruning
Winter pruning is an important part of any good landscape maintenance program, and it’s a great way to keep trees
and shrubs “in bounds” while helping them to maintain a pleasant shape.
It’s much easier to see where pruning needs to be done during the winter (since leaves
will have dropped). In addition, plants are less active during the winter months, with less fluid moving through the branches.
This means that the wounds created from pruning will “bleed” less and will heal more quickly.
Trees and shrubs should be pruned in the winter to remove branches
that overlap and rub against each other, to remove any deadwood, and to keep stray branches from blocking driveways, walkways
and windows. This will lead to healthier, better-looking trees and shrubs and a more functional, aesthetically pleasing landscape.
The only landscape plants that won’t benefit
from winter pruning are spring-flowering shrubs. By winter, their buds will have been set for blooming, and pruning them would
eliminate flowering next spring!
For information on pruning
techniques.
Click Here.
Everybody likes to come home to
a clean house after a vacation. By the same token, who doesn’t get some extra pleasure from a tidy lawn and landscape
when spring arrives? A little extra effort now can save some work this spring while giving turf and landscape plants a great
head start on next year’s growing season.
The Landscape Most perennials will benefit from being cut back now, and expired
annuals should be removed.
Adding a fresh layer of mulch
around plantings will give the landscape a neat and tidy appearance while keeping the temperatures around the plants more
steady than uncovered soil. Mulch will also help to hold moisture, which is one of the most important parts of fighting winter
stress. Remember, spring will be here before you know it, and it pays
to think ahead
|
