Expertise-Based Plant Selection & Shrub Pruning Delivers Great Results

Amateurs endlessly prune plants to keep them in bounds, however, with a little foresight this should be unnecessary. Selecting the correct plant for the location is the key.
For example, those overgrown evergreens blocking the  windows should never have been planted there in the first place, and trees that were planted underneath electrical or phone cables that have grown taller and now interfere with the overhead lines should not have been planted in that location.

Crabapple LandscapExperts overcomes these pitfalls by careful initial plant selection that eliminates continuous pruning to keep shrubs short. Crabapple knows from both research and experience what size the shrubs will ultimately reach, and selects appropriate cultivars, or dwarf or prostrate forms, to suit each location-- saving you maintenance dollars. 

Now with the rainfall and warm temperatures of late spring and early summer, woody ornamental shrubs are in rapid growth, adding inches to their height and girth. Four good horticultural reasons why shrubs do need to be pruned include:

1.   keep them shapely
2.  maintain plant health by eliminating dead, dying, or diseased wood. A dying branch or stub can be an entry point for insects or diseases that could spread to other parts of the plant
3.   encourage better blooming and better quality blooms
4. shearing to produce a dense, solid hedge or topiary form

In the first three cases, LandscapExperts will evaluate each shrub on an individual basis and will selectively prune unruly or dead branches to improve the form and health of each plant, expertly using specialty bypass clippers. In the fourth case, hedge shears are used for a smooth, “matt finish” on shrubs used as green shapes in the landscape.

Since the forsythias, azaleas, loropetalum and Miss Kim Lilacs of early spring are finished blooming, now is the ideal time to ask Crabapple;s LandscapExperts to shape up the shrubs on your properties, with plenty of time remaining before they set buds for next spring.

Ask Crabapple LandscapExperts to quote on some expert pruning to get your shrubbery in the best shape possible, and earn compliments from residents and clients.  

Photos thanks to Gardeninginfozone.com; Crabapple.com; Johnston.ces.ncsu.edu