(Reprinted 1937)
Care and Pruning of Ornamental Shrubs
T HE value of an ornamental plant 
depends on its natural beauty
of form and attractiveness of leaves, flowers, and fruits.
When it loses these its usefulness ceases. In order to maintain
these qualities, the plant must be intelligently cared for. In caring
for plants, it must be remembered that they are living things, and
in order to maintain an attractive appearance, they must be kept
in a healthy, vigorous condition. This requires that they be given
some cultural attention and occasionally be fertilized and pruned.
It is the object of this leaflet to give very simple instructions for
the care of flowering shrubs, roses, hedges, and conifers.
GENERAL CARE
The greatest amount of care will be required for a period of
a year or two after the plants are set. It is during this time that
the new root system is being developed, and everything possible
should be done to make growing conditions favorable. Weeds
should be kept out of the shrub bed, and the surface of the soil
should be kept loose through cultivation. A straw or leaf mulch
saves labor on large areas. Usually, after three or four years the
plants shade the ground enough to make weeding unnecessary.
Watering during dry spells is important. Large numbers of
newly set plants are lost every year because of insufficient mois-
ture. This is especially true in the late winter and spring 
months
of a dry year. Plants show less injury from lack of moisture 
at
this time and are, therefore, more likely to be neglected than 
during
the summer. In the summer the effects are more apparent, 
and
the owner applies the remedy more readily. The best method of
watering is to make a depression around the plant 
and fill this de-
pression with water. After the water has settled, dry 
soil should
be pulled over the moist area. To water in this way twice 
a week
is much better than to give a daily sprinkling. 
Some gardeners ad-
vocate spraying the foliage of newly set shrubbery during 
the hot
dry weather. This should be done in the late afternoon.
Woody plants need fertilizing every few years even on good
soil. Most shrubs respond to an application of manure made in 
the
spring. After pruning, the owner should apply fertilizer 
as soon as
growth has started again. There are a few shrubs that 
require an
acid soil. To obtain this condition peat humus, leaf 
mold, or alumi-
num sulphate may be used. These should 
be applied to an area
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
OF THE
ALABAMA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
M. J. FUNCHESS, Director
AUBURN
LEAFLET No. 12 OCTOBER 1934
2
around the plant and worked lightly into the soil. The first two
materials mentioned are safer to use, but sometimes the last one is
more convenient to obtain. Some of the plants requiring acid soil
are Azalea, Rhododendron, and Mountain Laurel.
PRUNING
In pruning ornamental plants, one has four general purposes in
view. They are: (1) to balance the top and roots at transplanting
time, (2) to modify or control the form, shape, and size of the
plant, (3) to regulate the number and character of the flowers or
berries produced, and (4) to remove unsightly, dead, broken, di-
seased, or weak branches.
For the actual operation of pruning these general instructions
should be followed: (1) Use sharp, clean tools; (2) use tools of
sufficient strength to make clean cuts; (3) in removing branches
leave no ragged portions or stubs; (4) burn all diseased or insect-
infested branches as soon as they are removed; and (5) clean and
disinfect the tools after working with diseased plants.
TIME AND EXTENT OF PRUNING SHRUBS
The time of the pruning operation is determined by the age of
the wood on which the flowers are produced. Those shrubs which
produce flowers on the previous year's wood must be pruned soon
after flowering. Those which produce blooms on the current year's
wood can be pruned at any time during the dormant period. This
is best done in the very early spring because any resulting bareness
is soon relieved by the new growth, and portions injured by the
cold can be removed along with the other pruning.
The rate of growth of shrubs suggests the amount and fre-
quency of pruning necessary. Those shrubs which are slow of
growth should have only the dead wood removed. The more rapid
growing plants should have all three-year old and older wood re-
moved, and the very rapid growing plants should have the two-
year old and older wood removed and the one-year wood shortened.
For all practical purposes, all shrubs can-be placed into four
general groups according to the severity and frequency of pruning
that is desirable. The first group includes plants which are slow of
growth and which should be pruned to remove dead wood only.
They are: Azalea, Camellia, Cape Jasmine, Clematis, Cherry-
Laurel, Cotoneaster, Flowering Almond, Flowering Dogwood,
Flowering Quince, Fringe Tree, Hawthorn, Jasmine (late flower-
ing), Lilac, Pearl Bush, Photinia, Sweetshrub, Redbud, Viburnum,
and Yellow Rose (Kerria).
The second and third groups include plants which are more
rapid in growth and which are pruned to remove three-year old and
older wood. The plants of the second group produce blooms on the
previous year's growth and must be pruned immediately after
flowering. They are: Barberry, Bush Dogwoods, Beauty Bush
(Kolkwitzia), Deutzia, Forsythia, Golden Elder, Jasmine (early
blooming), Rose-acacia, Spirea (early-blooming), Tamarix, Winter
Honeysuckle, Weigela, and Wisteria.
The third group includes the plants which produce blooms on
the current year's wood and may be pruned at any time during the
dormant season. They are: Althea, Honeysuckle (except Winter
Honeysuckle), Nandina (remove leggy canes to the ground), and
the Privets (Ligustrum).
The fourth group includes plants that produce blooms on the
current year's growth and may be pruned at any time during the
dormant season. The plants included in this group grow very
rapidly, making it necessary to remove all two-year old and older
wood and to shorten the one-year wood. They are: Butterfly Bush.
Coralberry (Symphoricarpos), False Indigo, Hydrangea, Lilac,
Chastetree, Spirea (late blooming), and Sumac.
PRUNING FLOWERING SHRUBS
There are a number of general principles which should be
studied and followed to achieve success in pruning flowering plants.
Shrubs generally send out shoots each year from the base of the
plants. These shoots branch and give rise to numerous smaller
branches. Each succeeding year, the growth of the new shoots
from a given branch becomes less vigorous, and there is less likeli-
hood of these shoots producing blooms. In two, three, or four years,
depending on the characteristics of the individual plant, it becomes
necessary to remove the older branches. A rule which may be fol-
lowed is: "Whenever the growth of shoots on a single branch
system becomes so small that flowering is unsatisfactory or general
crowding of the younger branches results, then the older branch
systems should be removed to the ground". After the first pruning,
it is advisable to prune each year. This annual pruning avoids the
necessity of a severe pruning at a later date which often leaves the
plant looking unsightly until it recovers it normal appearance.
PRUNING ROSES
Roses vary widely in their use, form, and character of growth.
Since there is so much variation in this group, there must be dif-
ferent methods of pruning. Roses are placed in three groups. The
first includes Rugosa Rose, Austrian Briar, Swamp Rose, and
Prairie Rose. These should be pruned to remove dead wood only.
About every five years the whole top of the plant should be re-
moved.
The second group includes the climbers, the ramblers, and the
pillars. There is quite a bit of confusion among authorities as to
the classification of the plants in this group, and since they have
similar habits of growth, the same suggestions will be given for all.
The pruning should be done immediately after blooming. All the
wood should be removed to the ground except where the space on
the trellis is too great to be covered by one season's growth. In this
case, all wood three years old or older and weak canes are removed
to the ground, and the two-year wood is shortened to three or six
feet depending on the size of the trellis.
The third group includes 
the bush roses. These are 
chiefly
grown for use as cut-flowers, but they are also grown for the effect
in beds and in special gardens. Included in this group are hybrid
perpetuals, hybrid teas, teas, and chinas. These roses are pruned
much more severely where a few large blooms are desired than
where a quantity of small blooms is desired. For large blooms, re-
move all weak branches and shorten the more vigorous ones to five
buds. Spring pruning is generally practiced in this climate. To
assure large blooms throughout the season, the blooms should be
cut with long stems, leaving three to five buds at the base of the
stem below the cut to form new shoots.
PRUNING HEDGES
The beauty of a hedge depends upon compactness of growth,
symmetry of form, and uniformity of color. Compactness of growth
is the result of repeated branching of each branch system. To
secure repeated branching, hedge plants should be pruned to six
inches in height at the time they are set and repeatedly pruned so
as to force branching for each four inches of growth upward or
outward. The hedge should be pruned so that it will be a little
wider at the bottom than at the top in order that the lower por-
tion will get sufficient light to hold its leaves.
Occasionally, it is helpful to give hedge plants a severe pruning
to renew the vigor. This is done by remcving the branches to with-
in six inches of the ground. After growth has started, an applica-
tion of complete fertilizer should help.
PRUNING CONIFERS
In general, conifers do not need pruning, but there are some
cases where it is desirable. Greater care must be exercised in prun-
ing conifers than in some of the more vigorous plants of other
groups. Pruning should be done in the early spring just before
growth starts. Some plants may be simply sheared to increase
density of growth and to enhance the appearance. Some of the
plants are: Italian Cypress, Red Cedar, Chinese Juniper, Yew, and
Oriental Arborvitae. Other conifers which are more irregular in
outline may be reduced in size or directed in form by cutting back
carefully selected branches to a growing point. In doing this, the
pruner should keep in mind the natural appearance of the plant and
be governed accordingly.
DEPARTMENT OF HORTICULTURE AND FORESTRY