Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-03-01
THE SILENT BEAUTY
That Brings Freshness to the Lawn
and Incense to the Home.
PRUNING TIE SHRUBS AND TREES.
Vines and Flowers for Decoration, Both 0ut-
door and Indoor.
HOW TO BUY AND PLANT SEEDS
WRITTEN FOR THE D1sPATcH.1


The time for pruning deciduous shrubs is
not decided upon by all horticulturists, and
no general rule can be laid down that will
apply in all cases. Shrubs and trees are
pruned for different purposes, and no one
would gainsay the statement that the tree or
shrub pruned for ornamental purposes on
the lawn requires different treatment from
the tree that is pruned TO induce more
abundant yield of fruit. In the same way
shrubs are sometimes pruned to increase the
yield of flowers, and again to make the gen.
eral form more graceful and symmetrical.
That very few really understand the art of
pruning properly, and for purpose, is
evinced by the ungraceful outlines of many
Of our shrubs and the poor showing Of flowers
and fruit. The practice Of cutting of all
the limbs of trees, leaving only ungainly
looking forks and posts. which professional
tree butchers do in many private and public
grounds, and of shearing off the shrubs Of
border to a uniform height the same as they
would treat hedge, making absolute even
ness all around, is certainly to be deplored
and deprecated. If they are Towering
shrubs the very branches which are to bear
the most perfect flowers as a rule suffer de-
struction. Shrubs shoulds never be pruned
SO much as to impair their vigor, and they
should never be pruned in such a way as to
destroy the natural outlines OF their beauty.
1t is distortiug nature, and not improving
upon it, to prune shrub into such odd and
curious shapes that no one would know to
what order it belonged. The object of prun-
ing is to cut out the weak shoots in order to
give more vigor to the strong ones, and to
cut back cautiously so as to develop the best
form. Shrubs should never be cut back to
bare poles. for they will never again assume
that flowing grace of outline which consti-
tutes their chief charm.
The time for pruning shrubs depends
largely upon the kind of shrubs and the
purposes for which they are pruned. Shrubs
that bloom in the fall on wood grown the
same year, such as the althaea, the great
paniclod hydrangea, and some species of
tamarisk probably need hard cutting
back between late autumn and early spring
so as to encourage strong growth OF flower
ing wood for the next autumn. On
the other hand shrubs that bloom early in
the year on wood of the previous year
should be pruned Immediately after the
blooming season, and not in autumn or
spring. Another class OF shrubs are those
which bloom late in the season on the wood
of the present year, and the best time to
prune these is between late autumn and
very early spring.
Now is good time to do the work before
the sap begins to awaken them in the spring.
Shrubs that do not flower, or whose flowers
are not their chief mark of beauty, should
always be pruned cautiously and sparingly,
for the charm of such plants is found in
their winter garb of delicately tinted leaves,
often combining the colors of the rainbow
in beautiful way. Such mass of shrub
berry is far more beautiful than bare poles
of shrubs cut back ungracefully.
c. s. WALTERS