I went out to see a new client today who hired me to help them evaluate a space for a new hot tub. They have a cute yard with enormous rhodies, pieris, viburnum and other established shrubs. Such a blessing to have established evergreen shrubs that flower! The sad thing is that at some point in this garden’s long history the person who knew how to really care for these plants departed and enter - Shear Madness!

So often I see this happen. A garden was planted and fostered carefully by people who knew plants. Then, one day, the caretakers change. Sometimes this happens as caretakers age & must hire out pruning. Other times, the original caretakers move on & new, inexperienced homeowners take over the space — either whacking away at plants without any knowledge of what they’re really doing or paying a “professional” to take care of the garden for them. I don’t know which is more sad — trying to do it themselves not realizing (or not caring) that they don’t know what damage they’re really doing or actually paying money to have their beautiful (often irreplacable) plants mangled. In either case, valuable plants are often destroyed or damaged to a degree that will take years to then restore to its (almost) original beauty — the perfection of natural growth is rarely completely restorable.

Okay, so what’s my point? Am I just rambling? No…well, maybe…I guess I just want remind anyone who cares to read this that its important to know how to prune plants before you take a sharp instrument to them. So keep a few things in mind before you cut:

• Plants don’t have immune systems like humans. They must be able to wall off their undamaged areas from any wound that you inflict. If you cut them improperly, they cannot perform this task well.
• Plants don’t grow in balls & squares, so don’t try to cut them this way. Sure, shearing has a place. That place is not on established shrubs & trees.
• If your plant is “too tall” or “too wide” to fit your needs, know that cutting from the outside toward the inside or from the top down to fit your size needs will actually make the situation worse in the long run. You’ll just be activating growth in the very areas that you just tried to reduce!
• Think about incorporating your plant into your view. Clearing out dead branches & windowing through a plant is a great option.
• Shall I go on & on…nah…if you have questions, let me know. Or check out Plant Amnesty for information on how & when to prune your plants correctly.

Oh, one last thing…for those of you who know what an Enkianthus is… in this garden, there were two of the largest I’ve seen in Seattle. I’m guessing that for the first 20-30+ years of their life they’d been maintained as beautiful, multi-trunk trees. Then someone decided to make them into lollipop trees — shearing the top to create a messy hedge on the top of beautiful trunks. It about broke my heart. I have one that I’ve been growing from a 1 gallon for the last 3 years. Its only grown about 6″ in that time…just to give you an idea how long it would take a plant like this to become a tree.

…don’t even get me started on the Dawn viburnum sheared at the base of a window. At least nobody has topped the one Japanese Maple & I was able to advise them against cutting it until they get a lesson!