Pruning is one of the most intimidating tasks for the inexperienced gardener. In fact, you may be tempted to avoid it entirely. However, pruning is one of the best things that you can do to ensure the health and beauty of your plants. Here are a few reasons to change your mind about pruning.
Pruning is good for your plants.
It’s easy to be frightened by the idea of pruning your hard-grown shrubs and trees. You might worry about hurting or even killing your plant. Good news: it’s almost impossible to kill a plant by pruning it. What pruning can do, however, is encourage new growth, remove diseased areas of your plant, and even help control insect damage! When you prune a plant, you can encourage it to redirect its energy in to more robust parts of the plant, ensuring that it has a strong foundation and isn’t wasting time growing fragile, unwanted shoots. You can also selectively prune, and get rid of any damaged, diseased, or wilted parts of the plant. Pruning your plants will make them stronger and create space for new and healthy growth.
Pruning keeps your plants looking good.
You have a vision in your head of what the perfect garden looks like, but your plants don’t always agree. Regular pruning can keep them in line by making sure that they only grow in the shapes that you want them to. Pruning is especially useful in maintaining hedges or keeping bushes to a manageable size but, almost every woody ornamental plant can benefit from being trimmed into a more appealing shape. Pruning removes dead branches on trees and shrubs that are brown or leafless which become eyesores in an otherwise lush landscape.
Pruning can take care of hazards.
If the tree in your yard is underneath a power line, pruning is necessary to ensure your safety. Trees or shrubs that grow too close to powerlines can become a fire hazard and run the risk of causing damage to your property. You should also remove and weak or dead branches that overhang on any structures, such as your shed or house. If a tree or shrubs gets too close to powerlines or the structures on your property you should call professionals to prune it as it can be dangerous to attempt yourself. Safety equipment and experience are helpful when pruning hazardous plants on your landscape.
Now that you know just how beneficial pruning can be to your landscape, hopefully you’ll be less intimidated by the task of making sure it is completed correctly. It might be just what your garden or landscape needs to be the best on the block. Grab your clippers and get pruning or contact our team of experts to help you get started!
