Martensville Messenger June 16, 2016 | Page 18

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GARDENING

Spring And Early Summer Pruning Questions
And Answers

Submitted by Erl Svendsen

Pruning is a year-round
activity.
The
heavyduty pruning (removal
of diseased, damaged,
crossing
and
other
problem limbs) is best
left for late fall through
to early spring, while the
leaves are off. But there’s
plenty left to do during the
growing season, especially
with flowering shrubs.
Q. When is the best time
to prune my lilacs?
A. Lilacs produce buds
for next year shortly after
flowering. So if you wait
too long, say until August
or September, you will be
removing buds for next
spring, thereby reducing
next year’s display. So
timing is important. My
advice is to prune as soon
as your lilac has finished
flowering. That will give
it plenty of time to develop
new flower buds.
Q. When should I prune
my spireas?
A. That depends on the

spirea. If it’s a spring
flowering type (e.g. bridal
wreath, Spirea prunifolia,
S.
nipponica),
prune
shortly after flowering.
These types can become
woody, leggy and less
productive if not cared for
properly. Remove dead
and thin, weak growth
first.
Then remove up
to one third of the oldest
wood right down to the
base. The other type is the
summer flowering spirea,
usually with coloured
leaves (e.g. ‘Goldmound’,
‘Goldflame’,
‘Mini
Sunglo’, ‘Anthony Waterer’
series, etc; S. bumalda,
S. japonica, and hybrids).
Prune the bush hard in late
fall or early spring, down to
6 inches, before any growth
has started. You will be
rewarded with a perfect
compact mound. Prune
lightly again immediately
after flowering, removing
just the spent flower
clusters. This will tidy
up the appearance as well
as encourage a second
flowering.

Q. My overgrown Mock
Orange
(Philadelphus
lewisii) is just beginning
to flower. How and when’s
the best time to prune?
A. Prune shortly after
flowering. Mock orange
has a tendency to become
leggy.
This can be
corrected with regular
light pruning. Remove
up to 1/4 of the oldest
branches down to the
ground every year.

Q. What’s the best way to
dead-head my rose?
A. The old advice was to
find the first 5- or 7-leaflet
leaf below the spent
flower and make a slightly
sloping cut above that leaf.
With modern breeding, it’s
not so important to count
leaflets, especially with the
hardy shrub roses. What’s
important is that you make
your cut above a bud that
faces away from the centre
of the rose to promote
good branching structure.
Bonus Q. Why should I cut
the new growth back on

mugo pine?
A. Mugo pines are often
planted with the thought
that they will be dwarf
shrubs. And while there
are dwarf or slow growing
varieties, the shrubs may
not have read their own
labels and can outgrow
their allotted space faster
than you planned on.
In spring, new growth
appears as upright, stubby
stems (aka candles). If
left, the new growth can
extend several inches
adding unwanted height
and width. To keep mugos
in check (and to ensure a
compact mound), cut the
new growth by up to half
with sharp hand pruners
(you can also use your
fingers to do this). Do this
while the candles are still
compressed, before they
extend to full length and
become woody (i.e. early
to mid-June). If pruned
too late, next year’s buds
will not have a chance to
form on the cut ends and
eventually the stubby
branch will die back.

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ABOVE: Pruning Mugo Pine candle
(Erl Svendsen)

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