Step One in our spring routine is
cutting down.
Broad and important
The scope of this step is broad, ranging across all our
perennial plants:
• Trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs (lavender, etc.), for size
control or rejuvenation
• Herbaceous plants (hardy non-woodies: grasses, peony, etc.) to
remove dead stalks.
The step's also very important because it includes taking a
critical look at each plant's condition and any indications of
insects or diseases.
Worth covering every year
So we have written about this task every year for many years.
Each time we've covered the main points (as in last year's Spring
rush checklist, how to accomplish it all even when you or
the season are short on time) but we've varied the plants, how-to
examples and what-next situations. We know you're practical, visual
learners like us, so we're always watching for more real situations
and the photos to tell those stories.
Now that we are able to put all our work here in one place with
links between articles, we can use a link to that spring routine to cover
the main points each year and start gathering all the plant
examples on another, unlimited page. This is one of those things we
can do on a website that we couldn't do in hard copy -- publish a
book that has more pages every time you open it, and each time with
an expanded quick-link Table of Contents.
Demonstrating spring cut-cut-cut on these plants:
• Barberry (Berberis
thunbergii)
• Boxwood
(Buxus sempervirens)
• Butterfly bush
(Buddleia davidii)
• Grasses, ornamental clump forming
species (Miscanthus, Pennisetum, etc.)
• Holly
(evergreen Ilex x meserveae); normal cuts, rejuvenation
and when it's had leaves killed by cold
• Hydrangea, H.
paniculata types such as 'PeeGee' and 'Limelight'
• Lavender
• Roses with
extensive dieback; 'Knockout' and shrub/groundcover types
• Sage (evergreen cooking
sage, Salvia officinalis)
• Suckers from the
base or roots of a tree
• Yew
(Taxus x media)
Each spring you'll find we've added more examples to this list.
Even now as we assemble this list of new articles, many others are
already on this site but not yet linked. You can find them right
now: In the Search field, type (the plant name) spring
cut back.