The shrubs around the front of my home have become crowded and are growing past the windows and lawn. Should l just prune them back or should I move some of them?
This is a common problem in many landscapes. Shrubs are planted without considering how large they will grow. They look quite nice when newly planted, but soon grow together and then become too large for the space where they were planted. When sheared to fit their space they become square and look like hedges. They have lost the beauty of their natural shape and thickness.
Sometimes the best solution is to remove all of them and replace with plants that mature at the size that fits the location. Sometimes every other plant can be removed and the remainder pruned to fit. An easy fix where plants grow out over the lawn is to enlarge the shrub beds by moving the lawn back. That doesn’t work when the border is a sidewalk instead of lawn.
Shrubs can be pruned to reduce size without losing their natural shape and thickness. I refer to this technique as natural pruning. It involves making individual pruning cuts with hand clippers. Most landscape maintenance contractors only use power clippers, which leaves everything looking like balls and boxes. There are a few professionals who practice natural pruning techniques.
Natural pruning is not a complicated process; anyone can learn the few principles involved. I start at the bottom of the plant and prune the lowest branches back just inside a line where I would like them to grow. This allows for a little growth before they are too large again. Sometimes the lowest branches do not need much pruning. I then prune the next branches up a little shorter than the ones below them progressively as I go up the side of the plant. Finally the top branches are shortened to the desired height. Wherever possible cuts are made just above a side branch. I like to make them a little shorter than surrounding foliage so that the stubs do not show.
At the same time I am shortening branches I am also removing up to one-third of the branches to reduce the thickness of growth. This is particularly needed if plants have previously been sheared with power clippers. These cuts are made deep inside the plant. In many cases entire branches are cut back to their origin. This pruning needs to be done annually, and sometimes more often.
If you want to do some of your own natural pruning, I would recommend getting a good quality bypass hand pruner with two sharp blades that bypass each other like scissors. You may also need some long-handled loppers for larger cuts.
I have a four-page leaflet with more detailed information about natural pruning. Send me a request at allenw98663@yahoo.com and I will email a copy to you.
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