Pruning plants cleans out deadwood, brings balance

Pruning is like taking your plants to the beauty parlor. The hairstylist thins, trims and balances your hair. Pruners clean out deadwood, thin out branches and bring trees into balance.

Some of Southern Nevada's leading horticulturists will be on hand to explain proper pruning techniques from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Springs Preserve. 333 S. Valley View Blvd.

I will host "Pruning with the Experts," which will include hands-on demonstrations on the proper ways to prune trees, shrubs, ornamental grasses, perennials, roses, herbs and fruit trees along with clinics on composting, irrigation, pruning basics, plant health and nutrition throughout the Springs Preserve gardens. Admission is free for Springs Preserve members and $3 for nonmembers.

Participating horticulturists include Dennis Swartzell, Russ Thompson, Bob Morris, Mark Rueben, Eileen Holter, Norm Schilling, Cindy Dixon, Lisa Ortega and Denise McConnell.

For more information, visit www.springspreserve.org or call 822-7786.

Here are some ideas to make your pruning tasks easier:

One of the first things when starting to prune is to take a good look at your plants. They have certain characteristics you may want to emphasize or remove. For example, ash trees like to grow upward, so you'll remove the inside growth to spread them out. Mesquites trees like growing out and drooping down, so you'll remove those drooping branches to lift the tree up.

Never leave a stub on a branch. It eventually dies and will stare at you until you remove it. You'll find it's easier to remove live stubs than dead ones.

Always make cuts where branches attach to another branch. Before making the cut, locate the swelling or branch collar. It is located at the crotch where the branches are attached to each other. It is only a quarter-inch wide, but within that collar are hormones necessary to quickly heal the wound. You want the collar to remain on the tree. This is a drastic change from advice given years ago when people were told to remove the collar.

And while we are destroying bad traditions, forget about painting pruning wounds. Trees immediately set up defensive walls around wounds to seal off potential infection. Dressing the wounds creates a motel for insects and diseases.

Look across the tree for any dead, diseased wood and get rid of it. If in doubt, bend the branch, if it's flexible, it's alive, and if it snaps, it's dead. Or peel the bark back; if it's greenish-white under the bark, it's alive.

Next, thin out the growth within the tree. You want light and air inside to reduce leaf and needle drop, improve leaf color, generate flowers and fruit, and reduce pest infestations. Summer and fall flowering shrubs typically flower on new wood, therefore pruning in the spring encourages more growth for more flowers. And remember, spider mites thrive in crowded conditions.

Focus on leaf drop. If pines can't get light inside the tree, expect lots of needles to drop. And if you can't see through a tree, it needs thinning out.

Occasionally, suckers develop at the base of trees, particularly on mesquites and fruit trees. Remove suckers by cutting them off where they attach to the tree. If you don't, the suckers may consume the tree.

Most trees produce water sprouts that develop on scaffold branches. They are capable of growing 10 feet within a season and are weakly attached to trees. Remove them to open up the tree while they are still small and much easier to remove.

Keep in mind where you want the height of the lowest permanent branches of a tree. I like to stand under a tree when it's hot and I am 6 feet 5 inches tall, so I keep them above that. Branches remain at the same height as trees age. Never use pruning to control the ultimate size of trees. Recognize the presence of overhead utility lines, proximity to structures, walks, driveways and other trees. As a rule of thumb, if a tree requires pruning to control growth, it's in the wrong location. Be conscious of these factors to avoid extra work.

Choose plants that, when mature, will not require constant pruning. I don't know why so many people plant gigantic shrubs under windows in a small area. They eventually become a pruning nightmare. Once you start shearing shrubs such as junipers, you're committed to shearing them two to three times a year for the rest of their life.

Linn Mills writes a garden column each Sunday. You can reach him at linn.mills@ springspreserve.org or call him at 822-7754.