Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-03-27
ny WILBUR II. YOUNGMAN
star Garden Eaitor


star Garden Eaator
The urge to get out the prun-
ing shears on the first warm
day of spring and start snip
ping seems to be o universal
tendency. 1t should be tenn
pered by knowing the effects
that may result from improper
cutting. Some shrubs. such as
roses and crepe myrtle. are
tender and may be frozen by
late spring frosts. the pruning
of them after such q freeze
will likely require further cut
ting back which may reduce
their size more than is desir-
able. Others, such as the shade
trees should be pruned before
the sap begins to rise" and
of course we can see this has
already begun because OF the
swelling buds of naples and
elms, as well as the precocious
willows. To prune heavily the
ng-flowering shrubs will
greatly reduce their spring
floral display since they have
already developed the buds for
this springs bloom.
Actually the spring pruning
of shade trees should be done
before the middle Of March in
this area. And the pruning Of
grapes is best done in February
if we are to avoid bleeding"
the flow of sap from the prun-
ing cuts. And, the spring.
Towering shrubs such as for
sythia. spirea, lilacs, etc., should
be pruned after Towering. How
ever, if the spring Towering
shrubs have been neglected for
several years it will undoubt-
eddy pay to get in and remove
q portion of the Oldest canes
at the ground line. The lilacs
should not be pruned until
after Towering because it takes
at least a full season of growth
for the suckers" to develop
sufficiently to replace a flower
ing cane-sometimes it takes
two full seasons of growth.
Pruning Rose Bushes
Roses should not be pruned
for a couple of weeks except
in the more protected sections
of the city. The pruning of
roses consists of removing all
dead wood, the weaker shoots, /
and the shortening Of the
main canes to a height Of 10
inches to 2 feet depending upon
the vigor Of the bush. and upon
the kind of bloom desired. A
weak growing bush cannot
withstand the heavy pruning a
strong grower will need. Also,
the more severe the pruning
the fewer but better blooms ,
win be obtained. Thus for a ,
free Towering border display
the bushes should not be cut
back to a height of less than
10 to "a inches. But. for the
spring rose shows the plants ,
might we'll be cut down to 6
to 10 inches. This win produce
fewer blooms but they will
have long stems and large
blooms.
The polyantha and f1ori-
bunda roses should have the
dead wood removed, the small
weak growth and then the
remaining canes shortened to
give a shapely bush. Old can
dleabras" should be removed.
The climbing roses should
not be pruned unless they are
so thick and woody that they
are difficult to control. In such
cases the oldest canes should
be removed lin sections,) cut
ting back to the ground The
monthly blooming and hybrid
tea climbers usually need only
to have the side shoots short
ened after all dead wood has
been removed. The shortening
of the side shoots has practi-
cally the same effect as the
shortening Of the canes of the
bush roses-reduces the num-
Der of new flower-bearing
shoots and produces larger
blooms.
Renewal System Of Pruning
Mention was made above to
the pruning of the spring.
Towering shrubs. Spireas. for
sythia. deutzia, mock-orange,
etc. They have all developed
buds for this spring bloom.
The removal of live wood thus
removes a portion Of the flower
display for which they are
grown. However, If they have .