ia6 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



M 



ay, 1914 



should be made as for seeding. The 

 lawn maker should see that the sod sup- 

 plied is thick enough to include a fair 



proportion of growing roots, and so en- 

 sure the grass getting a good start in its 

 new feeding ground. 



Planting and Pruning Shrubs 



H. J. Moore, Queen Victoria Park, Niagara Falls, Ont. 



N order to arrive at the proper time 



I and method of pruning shrubs a study 

 of their characteristics is necessary. 

 For this purpose we must recognize two 

 distinct types, distinct in the sense that 

 one flowers upon the current year's wood, 

 and the other upon the old or previous 

 season's growth. It is easy to disting- 

 uish between the two. As a general 

 rule shrubs should be pruned at once 

 after flowering if pruning is necessary, 

 but in the case of the more tender ones 

 which flower upon the current season's 

 growth, it is unwise to prune before 

 danger of heavy frosts is past in the 

 spring, say about the first week of April, 

 roses and hydrangeas. There is always 

 danger when these are pruned early in 

 the season, of the remaining buds being 

 killed, which is often the case when 

 bright sunlight succeeds excessive frost. 

 When this occurs the plants may be 

 seriously injured, and the resultant 

 growth and flowers worthless. 



Lilacs, Shrubby Honeysuckles (Loni- 

 cera), Weigelia, Snowballs (Viburnum), 

 Deutzias, Forsythias, and similar hardy 

 shrubs should all, if necessary, be prun- 

 ed at once after flowering, and the old 

 flowers removed from such as the lilac 

 before seed formation has occurred. 



In the case of shrubs, except ever- 

 greens, which are dependent upon the 

 formation of new growth for the follow- 

 ing season's flowers, the immediate re- 

 moval of old flowering wood or branches 

 favors the development of new growth 

 and the subsequent ripening of vegeta- 

 tive or flowering buds ere winter sets in. 

 Shrubs, however, bearing berries (fruits) 

 which mature during the fall should not 

 be pruned after flowering, as this will 

 eliminate their winter beauty, as upon 

 the flowering branches the berries are 

 borne. In this category are such ex- 

 amples as Berberis of many kinds, snow- 

 terries white and red fruited (Symphori- 

 carpus racemosus and Vulgaris), and 

 deciduous species of Euonymus, many 

 of which bear very ornamental fruits. 



BENEFITS OF PRUNING 



The objects of pruning are: To en- 

 courage the development of vigorous 

 growth and the subsequent production 

 of flowers; to eliminate worthless bran- 

 ches and superfluous growth, and thus 

 favor the equal distribution of air and 

 light: To remove defective parts, and 

 to promote growth to replace these and 

 thus assist nature to restore symmetry. 



It is an easy matter to remove all un- 

 desirable growth, providing certain 

 principles are observed. When remov- 



ing branches, do not leave stubs, each 

 undesirable portion should be removed 

 with a slanting cut at its junction with 

 another stem or just above a bud. When- 

 ever it is necessary to shorten or "head 

 back" the longest branches all should 

 not be cut at the same height. 



Growth should be encouraged close to 

 the ground rather than at the apex of 

 the shrub. To induce this the longest 

 branches must be gradually removed. 

 As the stronger branches grow more 

 quickly to the source of light, the weaker 

 lateral ones eventually succumb. It is 

 a case of the survival of the fittest, con- 

 sequently the main stems near the 

 ground appear bare and unsightly, there- 

 fore, the stronger must be removed to 

 be replaced by the weak. Dilapidation 

 quickly ensues where careful pruning is 

 not exercised, but where the practice per- 

 tains renovation is constantly taking 

 place much to the enhanced appearance 

 of the subjects. 



It is utter folly to clip shrubs into 

 grotesque shapes unless they are planted 

 as hedges or are included in a formal 

 garden scheme. Clipped shrubs are not 

 desirable for any other purpose, neither 

 are they natural, as usually all their 

 beauty and grace vanishes with the 

 removal of growth which produces flow- 

 ers. A well pruned shrub should ap- 

 pear to an artistic eye a perfect object, 

 no sign of mutilation should be visible, 

 the head should be perfectly symmetri- 

 cal with being grotesque. Clipped shrubs 

 are always grotesque, as the pernicious 

 practice of hacking these beautiful sub- 

 jects results in their total failure to pro- 

 duce annually their abundant blossoms. 

 Shrubs differ from trees in that they pos- 

 sess no well defined leader (trunk). 

 When pruning trees it is proper to re- 

 tain the leader, but in the former no 

 such leader should be encouraged. 



BOSEfi 



Roses planted in the spring should be 

 cut back somewhat severely. Other 

 shrubs may simply require thinning to 

 counterbalance the loss of roots caused 

 by lifting. Roses, however, which are 

 established are pruned according to the 

 characteristics of the class to which they 

 belong. Hybrid perjjetuals are stronger 

 growers than hybrid teas, while climb- 

 ing or rambling roses are distinct from 

 either of the former. Strong growing 

 plants should be pruned lightly, weak 

 growing ones such as many hybrid teas 

 . severely, but in the case of ramblers it 

 is only necesary to remove old or dead 

 branches to prevent crowding of young 



A Well Pruned Hyarangea 



growths, or to allow such growths to be 

 trained into desirable positions. It may 

 also occasionally be necessary to shorten 

 back the longest growths to keep the 

 plants within bounds. 



Briefly the shoots of hybrid p)erp>etuals 

 should simply be severed at points six 

 inches or so from the previous season's 

 wood, and all superfluous or weak 

 growth removed. The mistake of cut- 

 ting all at the same height should be 

 avoided. Hybrid teas should be severe- 

 ly thinned, completely eliminating weak 

 growths, leaving only the strong, say, 

 three or four to each plant, or if these 

 are exceptionally weak, only two. Cut 

 these back to four inches from the old 

 wood and the resulting growth will be 

 much stronger than were a larger num- 

 ber allowed to remain, and will produce 

 flowers of finer quality and in greater 

 profusion . 



HTDRANGEA 



Prune the shoots of hydrangea panicu- 

 lata back to two buds and after growth 

 has commenced ruboff^ one of the shoots, 

 leaving the stronger in each case. Re- 

 strict the number on the plant to four or 

 five. In this way weak unsightly plants 

 will become rejuvenated, and if care- 

 fully cultivated and mulched enormous 

 flowers will result. The illustration is 

 that of a plant bearing individual flow- 

 ers eighteen inches in depth and sixteen 

 inches in diameter at the base, pruned 

 in the manner indicated above. 



Some of the Clematis are almost her- 

 baceous in character, dying down to the 

 ground in winter. Others, by protec- 

 tion, or during mild winters, come 

 through the winter without the growth 

 being killed back very much. If the 

 wood is not killed back when start- 

 ing them in the spring, it is well to ■ 

 leave some of the strong live wood ra- 9 

 Iher than cut them right down to the 

 ground. The variety Jackmanni is one 

 of the best varieties grown. They flower 

 on the new growth produced from older 

 wood. — Wm. Hunt, O.A.C., Guelph, 

 Ont. 



