UNITED STATES—Motorized hedge shears are the most overused home garden power tools. They are very useful for hedges and similarly shorn shrubbery. The problem is that they too often shear vegetation that needs different types of pruning. Also, they often perform proper shearing at improper times. The efficiency is a distraction from seasonality and proper horticulture.
Dormant pruning happens during winter while subjects are most dormant. It is the proper technique for deciduous fruit trees, roses and many deciduous species. However, winter may not be the best time to prune certain evergreen species. Dormancy may not be such an advantage for them. It limits the ability to outgrow the evidence of pruning or shearing.
For example, an English laurel hedge appears quite tattered immediately after shearing. As it resumes growth at this time of year, it recovers very efficiently. Therefore, it does not appear to be tattered for very long. However, recovery would have been quite slow while growth was slower during winter. Autumn and winter are not good times for such pruning.
Hedges recover most efficiently from pruning at this time of year.
Actually, this is a good time to prune or shear all sorts of evergreen hedges. Pittosporum, privet, xylosma and boxwood all recover efficiently from such techniques. They will likely need pruning again, and perhaps a few times, through summer. Then, their growth slows sometime during autumn. Hopefully, they will not need pruning until the following spring.
Some evergreen shrubbery blooms for spring, though. Premature pruning would deprive them of such bloom. Laurustinus is likely already finished blooming, so may be ready for pruning now. Lemon bottlebrush, though, blooms somewhat later. If possible, its pruning should occur after its primary late spring bloom. It will hopefully not grow too big by then.
Photinia is now generating appealingly coppery red new foliage. Pruning would remove much of such foliage, so should be a bit later if possible. Then, shearing as foliage turns green would promote another phase of red new foliage. Of course, photinia trees are too large for such shearing. Also, trees bloom more than regularly pruned hedges or shrubs. Some find the floral fragrance of photinia bloom to be objectionable.
Highlight: Japanese Boxwood
Formal boxwood hedges are traditional components of old rose gardens. They are short enough to not obscure the bloom of the roses. Yet, they are dense enough to obscure the less appealing bases of rose shrubs. English boxwood is more common where winter is cooler. Locally, Japanese boxwood, Buxus microphylla, has always been more popular.
Mature specimens generally stay less than three feet tall and wide. They can grow twice as large without pruning. Their glossy evergreen leaves are only about half an inch to an inch long. The foliar texture is quite dense, so is very conducive to formal shearing. Bark is light brown or gray, but is not often visible within such dense foliage. Roots are docile.
Old fashioned Japanese boxwood has somewhat yellowish green foliar color. It remains the most common cultivar within old gardens. Modern cultivars are notably darker green. At least one modern cultivar is even more compact and globular than the simple species. Another is fastigiate. ‘Borderline’ foliage is variegated with light yellow or white margins.
Tony Tomeo can be contacted at tonytomeo.com.
