Ready-Set-Prune

Yes, it is finally the pruning season here in South Central Texas. This is one of the best times to prune your Live Oaks trees since the beetles that spread Oak Wilt are not active during the coldest month of the year. Many of our trees and bushes have lost their leaves which make this the best time to shape them up, too. Remember, however, that most of our shrub and tea roses are best left until Valentine’s day when rose gardeners generally prune and fertilize their roses.

Before you start, however, keep in mind that any plant that blooms in early spring and roses that only bloom once a year, should be pruned only after they bloom. This includes Mountain Laurels, Wisteria, Azaleas and the like. Pruning these plants now will remove many of the bloom buds. Many perennials will do better if you wait until February to prune back. That dead looking old growth helps prevent frost damage to the roots.

Most mature trees need very little pruning. You can remove any dead or diseased branches on mature trees, as well as branches that have grown into structures, are blocking a view, or are impeding movement on sidewalks or driveways.

For most bushes and immature trees, there are three steps to pruning. First, remove dead branches. Then, remove branches that are growing into the center of the plant or that are rubbing on other branches. The idea is to prevent branches from damaging each other, and to let light into the center of the bush. Then, if necessary trim the plant back to the size you want it to be. Usually, you don’t want to remove more than one third of a plant at a time. Don’t remove branches coming from the trunk of an immature tree until the branch is about one inch in diameter. Research has shown that the young trees develop better with those branches in place.

Here are some examples. I have a young Big Tooth Maple. I want it to develop a strong trunk. It is about 4 feet tall. I am tempted to remove some of the branches on the lower third of the young tree so that the tree will look more – well – tree like. But, each winter, I remove only those branches that are one inch in diameter. That will insure that the tree grows straight, tall and healthy.

How about that Texas Sage that is getting too tall? Don’t just take a hedge trimmer to it and carve it into a ball. You will get heavy growth around the outside of the tree, but leggy, bare areas in the center. So, be sure to take out those crossing branches and thin out the center before the haircut. The whole bush will recover nicely and remain full throughout.

Vitex tolerates a heavy pruning. We take off as much as four feet from the Vitex in the Master Gardener garden at the Extension Center. That encourages the Vitex to send out lots of young shoots in the spring and bloom heavily. Butterfly bush will take a heavy pruning also.

If you have kept some of the Texas Persimmons in areas near the house, trim them up from the ground to expose the trunk every year as they mature. The trunks of the older Persimmons are beautiful in winter. Without any trimming, they tend to stay pretty wild looking. Agarita will stay a shapely bush with very little attention. I trim back the shoots that have gotten taller than I want. Just a little attention will leave you with a very attractive, evergreen shrub that the deer won’t touch.