The Basics of Trimming Your Plants
If you've ever seen a house that had the perfect lawn or the
perfect garden and then thought back to your less-than-perfect
garden chances are you became just a tad bit envious."Why won't my garden grow like that?" many of us
have wondered. For most gardens, the secret lies in
keeping the garden properly trimmed. That means not just pulling
weeds, but trimming the plants themselves. You can bet
that the gardens that most grab people's attention are those
that have the highest grade of soil, that are watered consistently,
that have overcome the insect issue, and yes the ones where
the plants are properly trimmed.
Keeping
your plants trimmed offers lots of benefits. It will
cause your plants to grow strong, to increase in beauty,
and to bloom spectacularly long beyond its normal bloom
period. Only correct trimming will help the plant
to grow to true perfection. And don't worry: It won't
be quite the chore that you might think. A plant will
only require occasional trimming if you do it right and
do it consistently.
Another
benefit of trimming your plants consistently is that your
entire property will look much nicer and will be a safer
place to walk. This is especially true when you're
trimming your larger plants. By trimming low hanging
branches regularly, you lower the risk of injury to a person,
plus you eliminate the possibility of the limb scraping
a vehicle or blocking your vision as you try to back out
into the street.
Did
you know that trimming plants can actually revitalize ones
that are about to die? It's true! Many people who
have plants where the blooms have already died simply "deadhem"
them. As a result, the plant began to re-bloom again.
On the other hand, if you neglect to trim them properly
and consistently, you're actually encouraging premature
death of the plant. Failure to keep them trimmed like
you should will cause a plant to be stunted and to look
sickly. But this same sick-looking plant, when you
just trim back the lower limbs, will dramatically and quickly
improve in both health and appearance.
One
more advantage of trimming: You can actually influence
the direction that your plant grows by trimming it correctly.
This is because, when you trim a portion of the plant, you
are stopping its growth in that direction and telling it
to grow in the opposite direction. So if you seek to train
a plant especially a younger one to grow in a certain
direction, trim it from the other side.
And
finally, keeping your plants trimmed will also help to control
water sprouts (these are shoots which often grow from branches
and a plant trunk).
Here
are some basic principles to remember when trimming plants.
How you trim will depend on the kind of plants you have.
Most plants produce a new bunch of leaves and stem cells
beginning in the spring and going through middle and late
summer. During this time, food will become part of
the plant because of a higher level of photosynthesis than
at other times of the year. Then after the colder winter
has come and gone and a new spring "springs" up,
the sugars from these foods will be released, causing the
plant to come out of hibernation. What does this mean
for trimming? It means that you'll get the best results,
the healthiest blossoms, and greenest leaves if you trim
in mid-summer.
So
trim the plants already. Not only will you then have
a garden that others will envy, but you'll have a bunch
of much-happier plants on your property.