Evergreens trees are plants that keep the garden alive, even in the cold,
dreary months of winter. Many become majestic when allowed to mature and grow to
heights of 60' or more, but sadly, many are also planted in the wrong spot, to
close to a house or street and much of their grace is lost due to some misguided
pruning.
I will explain here how to take your existing evergreens, either combined or
alone, do some limited pruning and make them a more elegant part of your
landscape.
Why are most planted?
Evergreens trees are usually planted in rows and for two reasons, to
screen a view or block wind. Take time to learn about the plants and their
habits before you install. Your plan should be to have them around for a long
time and they should pay you back with beauty and elegance, not a lot of
work.
What happens as they mature?
Newly installed, the lower branches of the evergreens usually do not
stick out much farther than the edge of the mulch ring covering its roots.
Maintaining the grass around the tree is easy. As plants mature, the lower
branches extend farther and farther away from the trunk, covering more grass.
Now, the mower has a difficult time mowing around and under the trees.
Trees begin to get damaged
As mowers go under, branches get caught, are bent and break off, slowly
disfiguring the tree. The lower branches, are now shorter and stubbier than the
younger branches higher up on the tree. What does everyone do? They limb up the
tree, 6 feet-8 feet above ground to mow under. Now I do understand that some
evergreens must be limbed up for safety reasons (blocking views of a busy
street, blocking windows or home entrances) but all too often , it is done for
the wrong reasons with poor results.
Try not to limb these any higher than 1 foot off the ground
Arborvitae, Leyland Cypress, Spruce, Deodora Cedars and Firs limb up
1 foot.
Limb these higher
Large White Pines and Hemlocks, when mature, look ok if limbed up 4
to 5 feet
Plant new evergreens like this
Planting a row of evergreens? Plan to kill all of the grass between plants
from beginning. Use spray paint to identify bed lines, weed eat grass down low
and spray with roundup. Requires additional mulch but will be a major time saver
in the future. Edging is easier, one straight line instead of every individual
tree.and the professional look that's a thing of beauty
Existing larger evergreens like this
Find outside edge of the branches, go out 1 foot more, spray paint
line around all trees and make sure line is straight on both sides.Take your
time, it will pay off in the end. Weed eat down grass under tree to about 1".
Spray all grass with roundup that is inside the painted line. Do not walk thru
sprayed areas. Be careful. When spraying the outside edge of the painted line,
tilt your spray head back so the spray goes toward the inside of the bed. Keep
spray head close to the ground when spraying to prevent any drift into the areas
outside the line. Hint: Combining white pine beds in early September will give
you an added benefit. White pines shed needles every year in September and if
you have your beds ready, they will mulch themselves and leave you with a lovely
rust colored look. Beautiful!
Individual evergreens
As they grow, the mulch ring needs to grow with them. Increase as needed to
the outside of the lower branches.
Hint: If you have a Southern Magnolia, make sure not to limb up the lower
branches. The lower branches will hide all of the dead leaves that drop off and
alleviate an otherwise messy situation that needs constant maintenance. Clean
inside 2 times a year.
