DIRTY WORK
pruning
CONIFERS
The key to pruning evergreen conifers is knowing when and where to cut, as gardening expert Karen York explains.
WHILE EVERGREEN CONIFERS GENERALLY NEED LITTLE PRUNING, they’re
not very forgiving of pruning mistakes and will rarely recover from drastic measures, so wield those snips or shears carefully.
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extent, hemlocks will resprout if sheared back into this area; other conifers won’t resprout, resulting in dead brown areas. • Prune for the plant’s health (removing dead or diseased branches) anytime and always try to enhance the plant’s natural form. Regular light pruning is best – once an evergreen becomes big and unruly it’s difficult to get it back into shape.
• Branches with all-green foliage on variegated cultivars or abnormally large branches on dwarf conifers (which indicate vegetative reversions) should be cut of where they join the main stem. • Sharpen your cutters, from secateurs to hedge trimmers, and clean them with a 10 percent bleach solution (one part bleach to nine parts water).
ILLUSTRATIONS, EMILIE SIMPSON
• Timing is important: Prune Douglasfirs (Pseudotsuga menziesii), firs (Abies spp.), hemlocks, spruces and yews in late winter and cedars, falsecypresses (Chamaecyparis spp.), junipers and pines in late spring, as new growth appears. • Many conifers have an interior “dead zone” of old wood where foliage has been shaded out. Only yews and, to a lesser
SPRING 2016
