PRUNING. 15 



PEUNfflG 



May be performed freely when necessary. It was 

 once thought that Rhododendrons could not bear 

 pruning ; but, on the contrary, they bear it remark- 

 ably well. We have had large plants, which were 

 accidentally broken or cut down by the frost, pro- 

 duce young shoots as freely as rose-bushes, from 

 wood an inch in diameter. As a fact, Rhododen- 

 drons need very little pruning : in growth they are 

 symmetrical, and when left to themselves make such 

 beautiful plants, that any attempts to prune them into 

 formal shapes would prove wholly at variance with 

 good taste. 



Some tall-growing varieties, such as jR. Cataw- 

 biense album elegans, need to be cut in when they 

 grow too high. This may be freely done in early 

 spring, or immediately after flowering. 



We prefer, however, to rub out the terminal buds 

 of shoots that would grow too high, just before the 

 buds begin to swell in the spring. 



When in bloom, Rhododendrons may be freely 

 cut ; the only care to be observed being to cut in 

 such a way as not to injure the symmetry of the 

 plant, or to leave bare places where there is no grow- 

 ing bud coming on to fill up the gap. 



Standard plants occasionally need pruning; but, 

 by a little care in rubbing out buds, the knife will 

 seldom be needed for Rhododendrons. 



