Pump Up Your Property with These Perennial Pruning Practices

Many factors can determine your property’s curb appeal and value, and one of them is well maintained trees and plants. Rejuvenation pruning is the term used to define the removal of old, overgrown limbs so that the plant can grow new, vigorous branches in their place. It can make an immediate impact on your property by making brighter colors and more robust new growth. Red-twig dogwood, for example, has colorful stems where pruning forces the growth of new stems with a much brighter color. We recommend it for managing tree and plant growth and for controlling their shapes, sizes, and appearance.

Performing rejuvenation pruning can be quite complex and time-consuming. Our experts are experts in knowing when and how different tree and shrub species respond to this type of pruning to prevent disease and possible damage. Pruning should be a part of your regular maintenance.  Here’s what you need to know.

The Importance of Pruning Perennials

Timing Is Key:  To get your properties looking their best for the spring, we start our pruning not long after St. Nick has returned to the north pole. This gives the plants enough time to recover from the “wounds” they experience from the cutting/trimming process.

Natural Shapes: Pruning techniques also determine the plant’s appearance. An understanding of the patterns of the plant’s structure allows us to yield a better appearance. When cutting branches for woody plants, pruning cuts are made on young trees rather than removing large poorly placed pieces from mature ones. This will help limit potential infection and decay by limiting the amount of contact between wound surfaces which are often covered in soil or other debris preventing healthy nutrients from reaching them. The smaller an infant’s branch cut-down compared with its full size could be more easily compartmentalized so as not allow pathogen intrusion.

Pests Begone! Another reason to do perennial pruning is to slow down plant growth and create a safer environment for residents. Overgrown plants promote weed growth and help create hiding places for snakes and other pests like moles.

Protects Your Structural Property: Perennial pruning restricts the growth of plants by reducing their height and spread. Trees with dense branches risk breaking and damaging your property’s roof or worse, preventing possible injuries. Thinning also allows for new and attractive growths from the rootstocks.

Plant health is affected by pests, diseases, and damage, so not only do we prune to enhance the beauty of your greenery, but we also do it for the overall health of your plants. 

Disease prevention: Compared to annuals, perennials have more extended lifespans and need to be maintained to eliminate sick, pest-infested, damaged, and dead parts of the plants. Pests, diseases, and damage is removed by pruning to eliminate diseased and pest-attacked branches so that the diseases don’t spread to other parts of the trees or plants.

Popular Perennials We Maintain

The time of year we trim perennials determines their appearance once in full bloom. By autumn or spring, perennials tend to have already completed flowering. Trimming them at this time improves their appeal and flowering. Here are the fall and spring cutbacks we typically perform on clients’ commercial properties:

Liriope: These grass-like perennials form a dense evergreen groundcover with a grass-like appearance. We use lawnmowers to trim them, cutting back the foliage slightly above the crowns to remove dead tips and allow for new growth. Watering regularly is crucial, especially in its first growing season.

Ornamental grasses: These native grasses are a food source for many birds and insects. We cut them back about 4 inches above the ground using pruning shears or hedge trimmers to remove dead plants and give new growths a chance to blossom.

Canna: These are beautiful, bright flower and leaves similar to those of banana trees. We cut off dead or damaged leaves two inches above the ground to promote new growth. Regular watering and deadheading are the best ways to take care of canna plants. Deadheading removes wilted blooms.

Banana trees: Believe it or not, bananas are not only common in tropical and warm weather areas, but even in Texas. We prune the yellow and sick leaves starting from the tree’s outer side. Pruning and watering are good methods for maintaining a banana tree.

Crape Myrtles: Although they are an annual, cutbacks are necessary in mid-February by cutting the lower, thinner limbs. Trimming the heads and seed pods is also necessary to boost their appearance.

Have Questions About Maintaining Your Property

Perennial pruning is crucial for your commercial property’s curb appeal and will help reduce the risk having to replace plants that have been damaged during the Winter season. Your perennials will also become healthier and live longer. Contact our team of top-rated team of arborists to if you have any questions or are interested in a maintenance quote.