Pruning Tips
One question that comes up most often this time of year is how to prune properly. Pruning helps to maintain a plants shape and size, rejuvenates and maintains good plant health. Knock out roses, a popular Mississippi Medallion winner, need to be pruned early each spring. Remove all weak and damaged canes. Prune the remaining strong canes by about 50%. Cutting the canes at a 45 degree angle facing out eliminates the cane holding water. Crape myrtles need to be pruned to keep them looking good. But I am not talking about “crape murder”, which is cutting the stems off at the same point year after year resulting in the familiar knobby ends. Remove the seed heads and prune off about 12 to 18 inches down the stem. Remove stems growing on the inside of the canopy and any suckers from the trunk base. Hollies and boxwood can be pruned as desired, as well as wax myrtle. A formal or natural look is up to you. Grasses, like this Miscanthus, should have the old growth removed to make room for the new growth. Spring flowering shrubs like azaleas should be pruned after they have finished flowering later in the spring. To keep your landscape looking good, be sure to remove and throw away all of the pruned material. Though this looks like a lot of work, pruning will keep your landscape looking good. I’m Gary Bachman for Southern Gardening.