Having a beautiful and well-kept landscape requires planning and proper technique. Understandably, if done right, you can expect your property to have a magnificent and attractive outcome. One essential piece to creating an eye-catching landscape is trimming shrubs and it carries with it multiple benefits for your plants. Let’s break down what you need to know for trimming your home’s shrubs this winter so you are fully prepared!
Get Your Tools!
To get a job like trimming shrubs done the correct way, like many other things, you will need the correct tools. Always remember that your tools need to be in good shape to perform their duties as intended. For this reason, make sure they are always well taken care of.
- You will need a set of pruning shears with sharp blades to make clean and precise cuts. Avoid cutting bigger branches and limbs with smaller shears so you don’t damage your tool.
- Shears typically come in the scissor action style. anvil-cut style, the larger lopping style, and pole pruner style. Each with their own benefits to what it is that you are cutting and the job at hand.
- Scissor action shears have a thin and sharp blade that slides closely past a thicker but also sharp blade. These tend to be more expensive but in return, you can expect clean and closer cuts.
- Anvil shears, on the other hand, are a sharpened blade that cuts against a broad and flat blade.
- Lopping style shears are the type with longer handles and need both hands to operate. These can cut through thicker pieces of your shrub with ease and even make getting to harder-to-reach areas easier.
- Pole pruners, simply put, are the long extending poles with a system on the end that allows for cuts that are out of reach for all other tools. These can be dangerous because usually, you are cutting things above your head with them. This means whatever your cutting is going to fall. Take extra caution when using these.
Trimming For Results
Winter is known to avid landscapers as a time to get many things done, which may come as a surprise. Many of the challenges you would face in other warmer seasons don’t appear here, which is why. Take advantage and start trimming!
- You won’t have to worry about hurting the growth of your shrubs when trimming in the winter depending on what type it is.
- Most plants go dormant in the winter which allows them time to heal from cuts made until the growing season starts back.
- Along with the warmer growing season comes bugs that can cause extensive damage to plants. Taking care of this chore in winter eliminates the worry of having to fight them off since they are inactive.
- Diseases won’t spread throughout your plant since it’s dormant in this colder season too, presenting more benefits.
- With diseases at a standstill, pinpointing and cutting them out of your shrub is made easier also. This way you know your plant has one less thing to worry about come the new season.
- Making cuts on a dormant tree leaves the stress factor out of the equation. If you were to cut while the tree is actively growing, this pulls an immediate reaction from the plant responding to the cut. leading to stress increasing.
To top it all off, trimming your shrubs in the winter greatly improves their ability to survive the cold season. Getting rid of all the bad things setting your shrubs back only means they will meet the spring ready to grow the best they can!
What’re You Waiting For? Start Trimming Your Shrubs!
This time of the year many people are busy handling all of the responsibilities that accompany the holidays. If this is you, or you just aren’t familiar with trimming and pruning, we can help. Chorbie is here to serve the homeowners of the DFW Metroplex in any way we can through our lawn care, landscaping, and pest control services. Don’t overburden yourself this season and let us handle some of the hard work for you. Give us a call today and bring in the holiday cheer with a landscape to show off!
