5 Reason to Prune Trees and Shrubs in Late Winter or Early Spring

1. To remove dead wood

2. To remove broken or damage branches

3. To remove unwanted growth

4. To reduce or maintain the size of the landscape plants

5. To rejuvenate old plants (helping to produce better flowers, fruit, or foliage)

Now is the time for tree and shrub care. Late winter or early spring is one of the best times to prune trees and shrubs. OK, there certainly are some do’s and don’ts, all of which cannot be covered in this blog. However, here is some great information to guide you.

IMPORTANT LANDSCAPE TIP: You don’t necessarily want to prune every tree or shrub on your property on the same day, just because you have the time, or equipment out. It is best not to prune early flowering trees and shrubs now, common to our area, dogwood, pear, forsythia, for example. You will want to wait until the blooms have faded away, about a month or slightly longer. You don’t want to take away the buds before they bloom.

With new landscape plantings, there should be very little need for shrub care. However, do look for any broken or damaged branches. With new shrubs you will want the shrub to develop on its own so that the plant has a natural shape.

With overgrown shrubs or trees the opposite is true for proper tree and shrub care. You will need to reduce the size of the shrub with a more severe cutting back technique. This is called heading back. This pruning technique is the process of shortening branches or stems back to a much lower point.

IMPORTANT PRUNING TIP: Make sure to prune to just above an outward facing bud or branch. You will also need to be very careful not to cut the bud or branch collar. Make your pruning cut on a slight angle, about one quarter inch above the bud. Evergreen trees (trees with needles, pines, spruce, firs) should not be pruned as described above. I’ll try to cover that topic later in spring.

I saved the best for last, trimming or shearing. I personally am not a fan. If you want balls, squares, and triangles, please think about this. If you ask a child to draw a picture with trees, shrubs and plants, what you usually will get are balls, squares, and triangles. If you ask an artist to do the same task, well…. you get the picture. So throw away your electric trimmer and get a pair of pruners and a lopper.

Of course, if you need help with your shrub care we are always here to be of service. For more information about our Tree Care and Shrub Care and Landscape Maintenance services, please see our pages or give us a call at 201-445-4646 to set up a free consultation.

Got Stumps?

Often times, people ask me what kind of work do you do in the winter? That response is easy, commercial snow and ice management. But, in years like this one, the lack of snow usually leads to a second question. What happens if it doesn’t snow? Well, I let them know that at Keep It Green Landscaping we do provide other landscape services that can be completed in the winter months like tree stump grinding and root grinding.

Stump removal can be successfully accomplished during the winter. Winter is also an excellent time to do shrub pruning or tree pruning, known as dormant pruning. We also provide firewood splitting during all four seasons.

You can go to our  Tree Care and Shrub Care page to print a coupon for 10% off stump grinding good until March 31, 2019 or for more information about our other services please see our Tree Care and Shrub Care page or give us a call at 201-445-4646 to set up a free consultation.

It's Hot and I Am Thirsty

The heat is on! It is extremely important that you water your lawn and shrubs. Lack of proper watering leads to problems. In lawns, drought stress increases the possibility of diseases attacking the stressed grass plant and also die back of the root system.

In shrubs and other plant material, lack of water causes stress which causes plants to drop leaves vital to survival. Weakened plants also attract more insects and in a weakened state, insect feeding places even more stress on your shrubs and plants and possible death can occur.

Remember, you don’t have to have an irrigation system to have a nice lawn. THE
GOAL IS TO SUPPLY WATER. If you have limited time, make sure that at least the sunny areas receive water. Please remember to always remove the hose from the lawn as the sun will heat the water in the hose to a high temperature and cause the lawn under the hose to die.

I recommend EARLY MORNING watering only, Do Not water in the afternoon or evening. This has the potential to create problems and increase the possibility of disease organisms attacking your lawn and shrubs. Hydrated lawns and shrubs are the best way for you to help keep your property looking nice and healthy.

For more information about our Landscape Maintenance   and Tree Care and Shrub Care services please see our pages or give us a call at 201-445-4646 to set up a free consultation. 

Heavy Snow Can Damage Plants

This most recent nor'easter on March 7th, produced a lot of wet heavy snow. Snow is generally beneficial to shrubs and other plant material by providing moisture and insulation from the cold.

Something to look for when we have wet heavy snow falls is snow that lays on shrub branches and bends them. If this heavy snow persists long enough, it can break a branch or bend a branch(es). If the snow remains long enough and a branch is bent great enough sometimes it gains a memory, similar to a hose that is always wound in the same direction. This is a common occurrence with multi stemmed or trunked plants such as arborvitae or birch.

If you experience this, it is best to remove the snow so that the plant does not gain a memory and become misshapen or break from the weight of the snow. It is not necessary to remove all the snow, as moisture is beneficial for plants, just to remove the weight from the situation. This can easily be done with a broom or a piece of wood and a gentle tapping to allow the snow to fall off. Shovels and rakes can have sharp edges that could cut or damage plant material but you can turn them around and use the handle end to again gracefully remove the weight of the snow.

Proper care and pruning can help reduce winter damage. If you do experience any damage or misshaped plants, please give us a call, we can help.

For more information about our Tree Care and Shrub Care services please see our page or give us a call at 201-445-4646 to set up a free consultation.