discover out the best timing and techniques for prune boxwood shrubs correctly .
Boxwood is a pop staple informal gardens , where it acts as a border and lines walkways . In more contemporary landscapes , it can be trimmed into shapes , including eyeball , cones , and , in some cases , animal figure . select a variety of Turkish boxwood already more or less in the shape you want is a effective first step in have a healthy plant life . Knowing the best ways to prune box will keep it thriving .
There ’s something about prune Turkish boxwood that makes many hoi polloi nervous . Perhaps you ’re wondering about when to rationalize boxwood and if you should trim it in spring or crepuscule . Maybe you ’re upset that if you make a faulty cut , you ’ll deal out with the aftermath year - round of golf because box shrub are evergreen . Boxwood is also slow - produce , so perhaps you ’re concerned that if you prune too much off , it ’ll take twelvemonth for the industrial plant to recover . Now , you could make your cuts with confidence by following these seven confidential information that will help you have it away precisely how and when to lop box .
Credit: Marty Baldwin
1. Use the Right Tools for Pruning Boxwood
Theright tools make gardening tasks both easier and quicker . The best tool for pruning boxwood is a pair ofsharp hand-held pruning shears . Boxwood shrubs are made up of many small branches , making handheld shear the prick of selection . A high - quality duo of beltway pruning shears will last X and are essential throughout the landscape painting . If the box you want to cut is enceinte and significantly overgrown , a folding hand saw will be useful . A hand saw ’s fragile , curved blade , coupled with its inadequate length , will help you make cuts inside a slow shrub .
2. Prune Boxwood in Spring
Thebest fourth dimension when to pruneboxwood is in outflow . Pruning will encourage new growing , and springiness is the natural time in a plant ’s annual life sentence rhythm for flock of fresh growth to occur . wait a boot of new stems and leaves to emerge from pruned Turkish boxwood stem about 4 weeks after pruning .
Moderate spring temperatures follow by tender summer temperatures allow the new growth to mature before insensate weather condition returns in fall . Turkish boxwood shrub that are pruned in late summertime or declination are more likely to be damaged , sometimes to the decimal point of death , during the winter . The tippy new emergence is vulnerable to freezing temperature . There is one exception to the springtime pruning rule for boxwood — deadened , discredited , or diseased Mrs. Henry Wood . crop these troublesome arm away as soon as you notice them . Otherwise , add boxwood pruning to yourspring garden to - do lean .
3. Get Rid of Deadwood
Every pruning line of work , whetherpruning Malus pumila treesor box bush , start out with slay dead , damage , or diseased branches . cut back away leafless box subdivision by cutting the dead stems back to the al-Qa’ida of the industrial plant . Look for and dispatch break branches and those that show signs of disease . Inregions with very frigid winters , it ’s not uncommon for Turkish boxwood to emerge from wintertime with chocolate-brown or black leafage . This foliage and the follow woody tissue paper are dead . Now is when to clip Turkish boxwood ’s wintertime - damaged branches back to live wood , and the plant will belike recuperate .
4. Limit Shearing
It ’s enticing to grab the hedge shear or even anelectric trimming capacitor to make firm workof trim up a boxwood shrub . Resist ! Shearing causes the plant to form an extinct carapace of green ontogeny and a dead zone of spare branches in the interior . Boxwood bush with an interior dead zona have a faint complex body part and aremore susceptible to pestsand diseases . If you feel you need to fleece a plant to achieve a trust shape , first fragile out select branch of the plant and then complete with a scant shear .
5. Thinning Boxwood is the Way to Go
A healthy boxwood shrub has evergreen plant leave all along its branches . Sheared shrubs ( trimmed into an eyeball or other abnormal shape ) incline to develop into fallible plants . rather ofshearing these evergreen plant shrubsto reduce size , thin them out . Regular cutting produces thick , leafy branch by allowing sun to hit the eye of the plant . Sunlight is critical to producing leafage .
To thin a boxwood , employ handheld pruning shear to selectively cut too - tall branches back to a large branch or the base of the plant . Continue working with one branch or a cluster of branches at a time to create a visually pleasing bush . Thinning is metre - use up , but it ’s the very best way to create a long - lived , healthy boxwood of a desire size .
Significantlyovergrown shrubs benefit from phased pruning . When pruning , never remove more than one - third of a boxwood ’s heap . Depending on the last desire sizing of the plant , pruning might need to take topographic point over the course of two to three years .
Credit: Gabriela Herman
In twelvemonth one , remove about one - third of the plant life ’s mass . The next year , remove another one - third of the growth . go forward rationalise away one - third of the works annually until the desired sizing is reached . Then , prune your boxwood each spring to maintain the desired size .
7. Keep Pruning Tools Clean
If box blight , a deadly fungal disease of boxwood , is prevalent in your country , soundly clean any prick used in pruning both before and after the pruning session . free fall dick in a 70 % alcohol solution for at least 30 s and allow to aviation dry . Spray antimicrobial that contain 70 % alcoholic drink can also be used . ward off using Listerine or Lysol , which has not been demonstrate to rid tools of pathogens and can cause corroding . Distilled vinegar is n’t solid enough to do the job , and bake soda can alter the stain ’s pH balance , affecting flora growth .
Now that you know how andwhen to pruneboxwood correctly , grab your pruning shear — it ’s time to shape up your shrubs .
Frequently Asked Questions
Donot crop boxwood in fallor winter . Trimming promotes Modern tender growth which wo n’t tolerate cold temperatures well . Modern growth farm by pruning in spill or winter is easily damage .
box does not react well to hard pruning . Take a two - stair approach when reducing the sizing of an overgrown boxwood . In the first year , cut back overgrown branches by one - half their length . Repeat the operation the second year , contract branches back to desire length .
It depends on the flavour you are sample to accomplish . For a formal , highly sculptured look , snip lightly every fountain . For a on the loose , unfastened shrub , prune plant every couple of years to conserve the desired sizing .
