CHAPTER XIX 



PRUNING OF SHRUBS 



No single rule can be laid down as to the best 

 method of pruning deciduous shrubs. The ob- 

 jects to be attained by pruning are the securing 

 of some desired form, the development of strong, 

 uniform plants and foliage, or the production of 

 flower-buds. 



A large percentage of the flowering shrubs 

 blossom in the spring, and produce their blos- 

 som-buds on small branches that were made the 

 year before. Each flower-bud is carefully pro- 

 tected from the severity of the winter, ready to 

 develop with the warmth of the coming year. 

 These are the branches which are sacrificed 

 when the pruning is done in the autumn or early 

 spring, and with them the buds and anticipated 

 blossoms. If the pruning is delayed until after 

 the shrubs have bloomed, they will make an 

 effort to repair the waste by throwing out new 

 shoots, which will ripen and prepare buds for 

 next year's blossoms. 



Shrubs that bloom in the summer or autumn 



on wood grown the same year endure severe 



pruning between late autumn and early spring. 



This treatment will destroy no flower-buds, but 



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