Daily Dose Blogger Bios
I Confess... I'm a Cutter!
Cutting back plants is the single hardest thing for most beginning gardeners to do. I've seen beautiful gardens go all to hell because the owner is afraid to cut. I've had to contend with distressed maintenance workers who are frightened of cutting because clients have yelled at them for it. I've known people who rationalize their fear of cutting as actually being a good thing because "nobody does cutbacks in nature..." Yes, that's true - so let's do what nature does and get some hungry deer to gnaw our plants down in mid-winter... or we could contrive to create a wildfire to renew and regenerate our plants and soil. Cutting back your plants is necessary for their proper growth and good health. I know that most people are so attached to the growth their plants have put on that they can't imagine hacking it off, for fear that it will never come back.
And then there's that word that strikes fear into the hearts of the unititiated - "Pruning." Say the word and hands begin to shake, brows knit in consternation- rows of precious bonzai and acres of intricate topiary float in visible thought bubbles above their heads.
Not so long ago, I was one of these baby gardeners who couldn't do the 'P-word'. Now, I tear it up in the garden, cutting like a house on fire ... notice I do not use the 'P-word'. I still see topiary when I hear it.
Do you want your plants to grow faster? Cut. Do you want your shrubs to be shapely rather than gangly? Cut. Do you want your herbs, vegetables, and flowers to really put out? Cut! Do you want to know how to cut? Read on...
We cut back our plants to control their size, shape, and flowering pattern. It is important to understand, no matter how counterintuitive, that cutting trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals helps them to grow faster and better. When you cut the top of a plant, you change the ratio of root to leaf, and since plants get nourishment from photosynthesis (something leaves do) the roots will get more leaves growing
asap. So don't be afraid to cut!
A plant's energy is constantly flowing to the tips of their stems or branches. All along those stems or branches, wherever there is a leaf attached, there is a little growth bud tucked in the joint of that leaf and stem. Cutting the tip of the stem will encourage all those buds to grow. This is called "pinching", and doing this when you plant flowers and vegetables (and frequently as they grow) will make for fuller plants that can support more produce. Pinching is the secret weapon of successful flower and vegetable gardeners - along with a good organic fertilizer and compost. So don't be afraid to pinch!
If you don't cut your trees and shrubs, they'll tend to grow all stretchy and leggy, with leaves concentrated at the ends of the branches. If you like that look, don't cut. On the other hand, if you like fuller, graceful shrubs and trees - Don't be afraid to cut! One of the goals for these plants is to open up the center so sun can filter through to the crown (where the trunk and roots come together, right at ground level). There is a trick for doing this. First, cut out any branches that are crossing through the middle of the plant. Next, control the future branching by placing your cuts directly above an outward facing growth bud (Remember? It's tucked in the joint between the leaf and the branch). If you want the existing branch to grow to the right, just measure approximately halfway between tip and trunk, then find a leaf that points to the right, and cut about 1/2 an inch above it. The little growth bud will follow your direction, and in a month or so, you'll have a little branchlet pointing right - like magic! As long as you don't direct the growth into the middle of the plant, you'll have a nice, open structure on your shrub or tree.
These are just a couple of techniques, but they important to have in your pocket. Practice them - Don't be afraid! More cutting arcana will be simplified or debunked in later posts...
Right on sister! I love to cut, cut and cut some more in my garden. No cutting rehab for me! If you want your plants to look full, you have to cut. I cut my artemisia 3 times a year to keep it looking good. Once my subtropical salvias are done blooming, I cut them back hard and they come right back with more foliage and flowers. I also cut my Euphorbia cotinifolia trees back to the main branches every winter and every spring I am rewarded with dark burgundy foliage. And don't get me started on grasses, they need to be cut back as short as possible. I know people do not believe this, but they come back fuller than before. I say, cut away!
Graygardener, I feel I know you! We like the same plants, we are cutters - Are you my long lost sister? Or, are you me? No ... you are obviously more industrious. Cutting your Artemisias 3x a year is being a Very Good Gardener! If I had a Germinatrix awards show, you would win Best Cutter. What kind of gown would you wear? Who'd be your date?
Cut, cut cut! I'm an addict!
But DH and I have a fuschia problem. He says don't cut, I say chop down to about a foot. So - I've compromised. Left one, cut one.
What would you do?
Also, our short lavateras (don't know variety) are so bushy and pretty with delicate pink blooms, we give them haircuts several times a year.But not right now. What would Germie do?
Also want to mention my newest tool. It's a baby chain saw on a stick. I can prune trees!
If I had a chainsaw on a stick, the neighborhood would have to lock their garden gates! I know what I'm going to buy next pay day!
As for the fuschia compromise - that made me laugh ... it's exactly what I'd do ... let's experiment and see what works - it's the spirit of gardening, right? Sometimes you'll get a big surprise, and the 'rule' you're testing out will be disproved. For example, most gardeners in warmer climates have realised that we don't have to prune our roses as hard as those where freezes are common. The shrubs bloom just as well, and no longer look like bon bons. That came from someone saying "What if ..." and cutting back one rose hard, one rose less so. Experimentation is always a good policy, I say.
Lavateras are like lavenders, don't you think - they never stop blooming, so people are afraid to cut - but if you don't cut, the plant grows all crazy and out of shape. If you don't want to cut your lavatera now because it's so pretty, you get a pass, Sumcool, because you are a good cutter. That lavatera is in no danger of getting floppy and weird, not in your garden!
Ooh, thank you, Germi! I'm feeling lazy and don't want to cut the lavatera right now.
I did, however cut off a few pieces for starts (which is how the 6 I have now were born).