PRUNING REQUIREMENTS 295 



An ornamental plant is rarely over-supplied with flowers. It therefore 

 behooves us to preserve, so far as possible, all of the buds which pro- 

 duce flowers. Practically all of the growth of new wood on these plants, 

 which adds to the increasing size of the plant, develops after the plant 

 has completed its flowering period. Buds containing the flowers for 

 the succeeding year are often developed on wood which is formed after 

 the plant has matured its flowers. Therefore, pruning on plants of 

 this kind, such as the mock orange, high-bush cranberry, snowball, 

 and Van Houtte's spirea, should be done immediately after the flowers 

 have matured, to stimulate a correct kind of new growth on which 

 may be developed flower buds for the next season. One of the most 

 common faults in connection with the pruning of trees and shrubs is 

 that of applying the same principles of pruning to all kinds of shrubs 

 regardless of whether they are early spring-flowering or late summer- 

 flowering, and in so doing to deprive the plant of much of its beauty 

 and attractiveness exhibited through its mass of flowers. In such 

 shrubs, of the spring and early summer-flowering types, which produce 

 flowers from buds on the growth of the previous year, pruning, to 

 produce the maximum of new growth for increasing the quantity of 

 flowers during the succeeding year, should never be delayed more than 

 two weeks beyond the time when the plant has matured its flowers. 



On the other hand, there is a group of shrubs of which the best 

 examples are the rose of Sharon, butterfly bush, hydrangea, and snow- 

 berry, which are of the late summer and fall-blooming types, and 

 on which the flower-producing buds are formed on the same season's 

 growth. To produce the maximum of flowers on such shrubs it is 

 necessary that they should be pruned during the late winter and early 

 spring months before growth for that season has commenced. In this 

 way much of the old wood is removed, and a greater quantity of new 

 wood, with its accompanying flower buds, is encouraged. If a general 

 rule is to be applied to all trees and shrubs it would be much prefer- 

 able to give them a so-called summer pruning, which means that the 

 operation of pruning should be delayed until shortly after the shrubs 

 have completed their flowering. 



In connection with this discussion it should be borne in mind that 

 there are also some trees and shrubs such as the flowering dogwood, 

 Judas tree, and lilac, which are not so much benefited by annual 

 pruning, and which should be pruned only by the most capable of 

 experts. 



