PRUNING 



391 



mal shapes. Sometimes a design or plan may be formal, 

 while the planting may appropriately be informal, or as 

 it is sometimes called, naturalistic. On the other hand, 

 the use of formal plantings with an informal design gives 

 most unsatisfactory results. The two most conspicuous 

 errors of this sort are the placing of geometrical flower 

 beds in the mid- 

 dle of a lawn, 

 especially on the 

 home grounds, 

 and the plant- 

 ing of many 

 kinds of shrubs 

 a s individual 

 specimens and 

 shearing all of 

 them to a simi- 

 lar oval outline. 

 As already inti- 

 mated it is ap- 

 propriate t o 

 shear plants 

 used in formal 

 p 1 an t i n g s to 

 such form as is 

 appropriate for 

 the design as a 



number at less frequent intervals; but not over a third 

 of most bushes should be cut away at any one time, un- 

 less it is found by gradually increasing the amount of 

 wood removed from year to year that better results are 

 obtained by more severe pruning. 



Mistakes are often made in the placing of plants by 



using one that 

 is too large for 

 the location, or 

 by having a 

 spr e a d i n g or 

 drooping one 

 where an up- 

 right one is de- 

 nanded. The 

 attempt is of- 

 ten made to 

 correct such 

 mistakes by 

 ruthless prun- 

 ing. The result 

 is never satis- 

 factory. Again 

 clumps of shrub- 

 bery may en- 

 croach beyond 

 AN OLD FAVORITE THE DOROTHY PERKINS RAMBLER th d ' d 1' 



This shows the flowering of this dainty and familiar rose in all its generous profusion of . 

 whole, but in color and bloom. Pruning of this prolific plant should be done after the riotous blooming its. Before at- 



informal time IS P ast tempting to recti- 



planting pruning should strive to preserve the natu- 

 ral character and expression of the plant. If any rule 

 can be laid down to assist in achieving this result it would 

 be to never clip 

 off the end of a 

 branch. If a 

 portion of a 

 limb needs re- 

 mo v ihg it 

 should be cut 

 out e n t ir e 1 y 

 back to the next 

 large branch. 

 This applies to 

 trees and shrubs 

 alike. Some 

 shrubs require 

 a renewal o t 

 wood from time 

 to time in order 

 to have good 

 young growth 

 to produce flow- 



fy such a condition by pruning it should first be determined 

 whether or not a removal or a re-arrangement of part of 

 the plants would not be desirable. A similar condition 



often holds with 

 trees. Of course, 

 with them trans- 

 planting is not 

 as simple a mat- 

 ter as with 

 shrubs, but thin- 

 ning by remov- 

 al of some of 

 the trees can of- 

 ten b e done to 

 a dvantag e. 

 Where repres- 

 sion may be 

 necessary it 

 should be un- 

 dertaken with 

 its true purpose 

 in mind, and not 

 under the pre- 



ers. This is se- PROPERLY PRUNED AFTER FLOWERING TIME tense of doing 



cured by cut- And here are the same Dorothy Perkins roses, less than a month later, after all the flower- something for 

 <.: ..(. ,._ m 8 wood has been cut out clear to the ground, leaving only the current season's growth. ., , - ,, 



ting out some s r 6 the good of the 



of the old stems clear to the ground, but not by shorten- tree. Severe pruning is as unnecessary and unwar- 



ing back or "heading in" as it is often called. This may ranted on a healthy tree as a major operation on 



be done by cutting out a few each year, or a larger a healthy man. If a tree is not thriving the cause 



