Renovation Pruning – renew your landscape

Does your yard have plants that have outgrown their space or intended purpose? Have shrubs that were planted for privacy thinned out over time?

Instead of tearing the plant or plants out and starting over, another option would be rejuvenation pruning – the practice of cutting a plant back significantly to promote profuse new growth. This results in thicker, healthier plants that are more attractive in the long-term.

Many of the woody ornamental shrubs that are common in this area are great candidates for this type of pruning: pittosporum, azaleas, ligustrum, as well as other species can all benefit from rejuvination pruning. Pruning of this nature involves indentifying the desired size of the plant, and selectively pruning branches below that level. In doing so, the plant has space to re-flush back to the desired size. Using hand pruners or saws, cuts are made near new buds and/or stem junctions to help stimulate their growth and minimize deadwood. It is important to make clean, even cuts that heal well and help prevent disease from entering the plant. This process activates buds lower on the plant so that there is new growth near the base as well.

The best time to renovate plants is when they are dormant, before warm spring weather promotes new growth. In the Wilmington area, that means late March through April.

If you have plants that could benefit from renovation pruning or if you’d like to make other refreshers to your landscape this spring, contact us at 910-256-6345.

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