Pruning - 11 different plants.

Discussion in 'Outdoor Gardening in the Pacific Northwest' started by sea, Jul 13, 2013.

  1. sea

    sea Member

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    Location:
    Port Coquitlam, BC, Canada
    Dear pros, this is my first garden and I have read a few articles and watched a few videos on pruning, but I am afraid of making a major mistake. I am going to prune these 11 plants in February (Port Coquitlam), but maybe I can start doing something now - in July (and keep pruning them till the end of fall). If anybody can give me any advice, I will immensely appreciate it. English, btw, is not my first language, so please don't judge me strictly.

    1) huge old Magnolia tree (afraid of cutting its branches; what if it dies)
    2) old sick Plum tree (covered with moss and eaten by caterpillars)
    3) big Philadelphus... (stems are so dense; don't know how to cut the oldest ones from the middle of the bush; lots of new branches make a real mess at about 1.5 m above the ground level)
    4) old Lilac bush (got 4 of them in my yard) - if I cut stems that are thicker than 1", the bush will look strange
    5) Forsythia - bad shape (empty space on top and a lot of branches covering the ground)
    6) old blue Hydrangea - stems are thin and sometimes break, growing in just one direction (have recently cut a few branches of a tall cedar tree on the right of this hydrangea, maybe it will start shooting new growth from its roots on the right)
    7) a shrub (don't remember its name - new leaves are always pink) - also growing in just one direction (tried to pull it a bit - stem can break on the ground level)
    8) a vine (don't remember its name too) - growing on the old wood... - to cut or not to cut? (growing in the wrong direction)
    9) Hibiscus - to trim or not to trim at all?
    10) a Lilac tree (unknown variety) - to trim or not to trim at all?
    11) Blue spruce - to cut the lower branches or not to cut?

    Thank you everybody in advance.
     

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    Last edited: Jul 14, 2013
  2. sea

    sea Member

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    Location:
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    Minus #6 - I received some good advice from 2 users on how to treat my old hydrangea.

    Would appreciate any other advice. Forsythia, for instance, is that normal that it has lots of stems covering the ground or I should better cut them back?
     
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2013
  3. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    Re: forsythia
    It is common for them to send up a lot of "suckers". You may prune these now if you like, no harm done.....take them off right at the main trunk. You can also do minor pruning to the rest of bush if you like. Ours always tries to get wildly out-of-control during the summer months but we just keep pruning it throughout the summer to help maintain the shape and then in late winter/early spring - after it flowers - we give it a good cut, usually taking it down by half its height (it will reach about 12-14ft in height by the end of summer). If you prune before it flowers, you will get no flowers. Also, when you do a major pruning like this it will look very sparse for the first month or so but then it will grow back and bush out. Yours may continue to look strange for the rest of the year, but if you take it down by even 1ft next year, it should start to fill out.

    Re: "vine"
    It looks like wisteria. This one can take a good pruning without any problem. You will have to be aggressive with this vine so that you are in control and not it. When it sends out new shoots in the wrong direction, trim them back, or train them in the direction you want. When it sends out new shoots in the right direction, train them the way you want it to grow. You can weave them around exiting growth, tie them where you want or give it some support such as twine to grow on.

    Re: hibiscus
    I would recommend pruning to maintain the shape you want but at this point I would wait until after it flowers. However if there are some branches without flower buds (which should be appearing now) that you wish to prune, you may.

    Re: blue spruce
    If you are looking to "clean up" the base and open it up, there should be no problem removing these lower branches.

    Most major pruning is done in the fall or spring, however minor pruning of the tips or branches causing issues can be done at any time of the year and in a lot of cases will stimulate new growth. Hope this helps
     
  4. maf

    maf Generous Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    Maybe it is time for the plum tree to be removed? It does not look great and getting rid of it would create some space for the magnolia and other shrubs.

    I would try to limit the pruning on the magnolia to dead branches, weak and whippy internal stuff, and water sprouts. Having said that, I would recommend removing the branch I have marked in the photo at point "B". It looks like it was previously (wrongly) pruned at point "A" causing the undesirable water sprouts to grow from that area. You can prune it any time between now and early autumn.

    1-1.jpg
     
  5. sea

    sea Member

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    to pmurphy: Thank you SO MUCH for your advice and help! Reading general literature on pruning is nothing comparing to your practical advice!

    I'll do a light pruning at my Forsythia, will cut some of Wisteria (you identified it correctly), will prune Hibiscus (when flowers are all dead), and will keep thinking about cutting the lower branches of the blue spruce (I've got 3 of them in my backyard; this one disturbs me a bit).

    Thank you so much for your time and multiple advice!!!
     
  6. sea

    sea Member

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    to maf: thank you very very very much for your advice!!!

    I think you're right about the Plum tree...

    Magnolia has been pruned before (there are a lot of twisting branches inside). I removed dead branches yesterday (a lot of them). I'll look at the branch you think should be cut back at point B.

    I was afraid of touching something other than dead stuff in this Magnolia. Thanks to your advice, I know how to deal with it now!
     
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2013

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