ICO 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



Mat, 1919 



much more reliable plants than their fine Japanese 

 relative which often sulks if conditions are not 

 just to its mind; and I know few that provide 

 such satisfactory spreads of violet-blue color. 

 V. amethystina, correctly V. spuria, I believe, 

 flowers in May, sending up countless flower 

 spikes to the height of about a foot, that last a 



long time in good condition. At this season 

 there are few flowers of its hue about. 



V. spicata is of much the same character but 

 grows considerably taller and flowers throughout 

 July and into August, when if the spent flower 

 stems are cut down there will be a second flower- 

 ing during the late summer and Autumn. This 



is a good plant to group with Gypsophila or the 

 Moonpenny Daisies, or for a gay effect, with the 

 yellow flowered Evening Primroses. Other Veron- 

 icas that are well worth the gardener's attention 

 are V. gentianoides, V. virginica, V. incana, and 

 the low-growing species so suited to rock gardens 

 V. repens, V. rupestris, and V. teucrium dubia. 



Proper Pruning of Ornamental Shrubs 



M. G. KAINS 



Now, as the Flowers Fade is the One Time to Use the Shears and Help New Growth for Next Year's Bloom 



THE universal, simple rule that governs 

 ALL cases is: Prune after flowering ! 

 The disappointment of so many people 

 over their ornamental shrubs is that 

 they do not obey this rule. 



By pruning I do not mean shearing the plants 

 to form fantastic shapes — that is not pruning 

 at all! 1 he kind of pruning we are talking about 

 is that which encourages the plant to do its best 

 in the production of abundance of flowers or the 

 improved development of its natural form, or 

 both. First of all, is pruning which removes 

 diseased, dying, and dead branches and limbs 

 or stems that are beginning to fail either because 

 of age, insufficient light, and any other cause. 

 This work is the simplest of all pruning. It may 

 be done at any convenient time, summer or 

 winter. In general it is best done while the 

 plants are dormant because there is then little 

 danger of damaging the parts that remain. 



VK/HERE the plants do not produce flowers or 

 * * are not valued for their blooming qualities 

 the pruning may be done during the dormant 

 season when it is desired to increase the amount 

 of woody growths, either in number, or in size, 

 or both: for pruning during the winter has this 

 general tendency. Summer pruning may be done 

 to strengthen the parts that remain and to reduce 

 the quantity of branch growth and thus keep the 

 shrubs within bounds. With non-flowering shrubs, 

 and trees; however, it is of secondary importance. 



^LOWERING shrubs are perhaps more often 

 *■ improperly pruned than any other decidu- 

 ous subjects just because people do not apply the 

 fundamental principles upon which the develop- 

 ment of their blossom buds depend. And yet 

 these are simple and only two in number. So 

 far as their habit of bud development is con- 

 cerned, ornamental shrubs and trees may be 

 divided into two classes, (i) Those that de- 

 velop their blossom buds during the early summer 



and the actual 

 blossoms late in 

 the season; that is 

 they require the 

 whole of one grow- 

 ing season to pro- 

 duce their blos- 

 soms and fruits. 

 (2) The other class 

 includes all those 

 subjects that de- 

 velop their blos- 

 som buds during 

 the summer of one 

 season, but, with 

 rare exceptions 

 such as YV itch- 

 hazel, wait until 

 the following sea- 

 son to develop the 

 b I o s s o m s from 

 these so called rest- 

 ing buds. 



It is obvious 

 Chestnut will serve as that these two 

 an illustration of plantMhat develop ■ c , 



flowers at the end of a leafy hud classes Ol plants 



Cut back just after flowering this spring-blooming shrub is 

 making strong new side shoots for next year's flowers 



cannot be handled alike, and yet the one last 

 described is very frequently pruned at the wrong 

 season with the result that only a scattering few 

 flowers — perhaps none at all — are left to open. 

 While it is not essential to prune the late blooming 

 shrubs like the Hydrangea in autumn or winter, 

 yet no harm should result if they are pruned 

 during that period. Generally, however, it is 

 more satisfactory to wait until the opening of 

 spring to cut them. On the other hand, it is 

 essential to the highest success with the early 

 blooming shrubs to avoid all cutting except that 

 recommended in the opening paragraph of this 



When you do cut out wood that has already flowered, do it like 

 this 



article; for if these plants are pruned during the 

 dormant season not only will large quantities 

 of blossom buds be destroyed but the plants may 

 be thrown out of balance and wood growth in- 

 stead of blossom buds be encouraged. 



L^VERGREENS constitute another class of 

 ■*-* ornamentals. Those that produce con- 

 spicuous blossoms should be handled in the same 

 way as deciduous shrubs that bloom at the same 

 time of the year. The broad-leaved ones like 

 Rhododendrons, Mountain Laurel, Mahonia, 

 and the Evergreen Hollies all produce their 

 blossoms before midsummer from buds that 

 developed during the latter part of the previous 

 season and remained dormant during the winter. 

 If, therefore, they are pruned during the dormant 

 season, or before the blossoms expand, great care 

 must be exercised to avoid cutting off the flower 

 buds. Fortunately these are rather large and 

 conspicuous, so there should be little or no 

 danger of removing them. In other respects the 

 pruning of these broad-leaved evergreens is the 

 same as that of the narrow-leaved ones, such as 

 Pine, Spruce, Cedar, and Arborvitae. The prun- 

 ing of all of these is best deferred until spring 

 has actually opened and such deciduous plants as 

 the Willow, Shad-bush, and perhaps Dogwood 

 have started into growth. The reason for this 

 is that all evergreens seem to suffer far more 

 than do the deciduous shrubs and trees when 

 cut during the dormant season. 



CHRUBS that produce their blossom buds 

 ^ during the first half of the growing season 

 should therefore not be pruned (if flowers are 

 desired) until after the blossoms have fallen. 

 Thus the shrubs will have all the balance of the 

 season in which to direct all their food and energy 

 to the ripening of wood and flower buds for the 

 next season's display. 



These early blooming shrubs and trees may be 

 subdivided into two classes; namely, those plants 

 which bear flowers 

 directly upon last 

 season's wood, 

 that is without de- 

 velopment of 

 shoots "this" 

 year; and those 

 plants which pro- 

 duce more or less 

 leafy shoots from 

 the over-wintering 

 buds, and upon 

 these shoots bear 

 their blossoms. 

 The illustrations 

 show the difference 

 between two of 

 these classes. The 

 Judas tree bears 

 before any of the 

 leaves appear; 

 the Weigela pro- 

 duces leafy shoots 

 upon some of 

 which the blos- 

 soms appear. 



The Forsythia is a good example 

 of the shrub that produces its flowe.s 

 before the leaves on old wood 





