Gardening for Amateurs 



881 



Pruning Leaf-losing Flowering Shrubs. 



Deciduous flowering shrubs may be divided 

 into three groups : those that require severe 

 pruning in spring before the flowers appear ; 

 those needing pruning after the flowers are 

 over ; and those that require no regular 

 pruning, an occasional thinning being all 

 that is necessary. 



Shrubs to Prune in Spring. Taking the 

 first set, we find that it is made up of certain 

 shrubs which blossom on the wood formed 

 during the current year, and the pruning 

 consists of cutting out the weaker shoots 

 and shortening the stronger ones consider- 

 ably. Thus certain Spiraeas may be 3 or 

 4 feet high, with twenty or thirty branches 

 springing from one rootstock. The branches 

 may be reduced by one-third or one-half, 

 and the remainder shortened to a height of 

 9 or 12 inches. The following plants are 

 treated in this way : Spiraea japonica and 

 varieties, S. Menziesii, S. Douglasi, S. 

 salicifolia, S. Margaritae, S. Xobleana, S. 

 betulina, Hydrangea paniculata and its 

 variety grandiflora, H. arborescens, Hyperi- 

 cums in variety (the pruning here must be 

 modified according to the species), Tamarix 

 pentandra, Buddleia variabilis, and Clematis 

 davidiana. Clematis Jackmanii and C. 

 lanuginosa and C. Viticella varieties may 

 be pruned hard at the same time, about 

 the end of February. 



Shrubs to Prune after Flowering. 

 Shrubs w r hich bloom on wood matured the 

 previous year should be pruned as soon as 

 the flowers fade, but in no case must pruning 

 be carried on during autumn or winter. (The 

 reason why that fine winter-flowering climber 

 Jasminum nudiflorum fails to flower satis- 

 factorily is that it is pruned in autumn, and 

 all the flowering shoots are thus cut away.) 

 In this section, pruning consists of cutting 

 away the flowering shoots, frequently to 

 within a few buds of the base, or removing 

 old, worn-out branches to make room for 

 young ones. Shrubs requiring this treat- 

 ment are Forsythia suspensa, Jasminum 

 nudiflorum, Prunus triloba flore pleno, 

 Prunus japonica flore pleno, double-flowered 

 Peaches when grown as bush plants, Phila- 



delphus Lemoinei and all other Philadel- 

 phuses of the same type. The Brooms should 

 be cut over as soon as the flowers fade, but in 

 no case should they be cut into growth more 

 than one year old. The flowering Currants 

 require no regular pruning, neither do the 

 spring-flowering Spiraeas. Garden Lilacs 

 require special treatment. In the first place 

 all sucker-growths (those springing from the 

 base) must be removed. This may be done 

 during winter or spring, but once they are 

 cleared away, any others that appear should 

 be cut off before they are a foot long, for all 

 the strength of the plant must be directed 

 towards forming flowering wood. At the 

 same time weak inside shoots should be cut 

 away. About the end of May or the early 

 part of June the plants ought to be looked 

 over and a number of the weaker shoots 

 removed. This will result in the strengthen- 

 ing of the remaining growths and the for- 

 mation of good flowering stems. 



Shrubs that Require no Regular 

 Pruning, but may be thinned occasionally, 

 are : Bush Honeysuckles, the greater number 

 of Berberis, the Cotoneasters, large-growing 

 Philadelphus (Mock Orange), species of Rosa, 

 Magnolias, Diervilla, Azaleas, Buddleia 

 globosa, Exochorda grandiflora and E. Al- 

 berti, etc. 



Certain shrubs are grown for the sake of 

 their large ornamental leaves, but the leaves 

 only attain imposing proportions when the 

 plants are cut hard back in spring. The best 

 of these are : Rhus typhina and its cut- 

 leaved variety R. glabra var. lacineata, 

 Ailantus glandulosa, Paulo wnia imperialis, 

 Sambucus canadensis maxima and S. race- 

 mosa varieties laciniata and plumosa aurea. 



Shrubs grown for the sake of the effect of 

 their brightly-coloured bark in winter, such as 

 the red- and yellow-stemmed Willows, Cornus 

 sibirica, Leycesteria formosa, and white- 

 stemmed Brambles should be cut well back 

 in March, for the best colour is obtained 

 from young stems. 



The pruning of Bamboos is dealt with in 

 the chapter dealing with those plants, whilst 

 general remarks on hedge-trimming are given 

 in the chapter on "Hedges." 



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