Shrub Trimming: Keep It Sharp and Stunning

Summer is almost over. Your flowers are no longer looking their best. Annuals are dead, and perennials are no longer blooming.

The parts of your landscape you hadn’t been paying much attention to are suddenly in the spotlight. Shrubs, the supporting players that stood by patiently during the warmer months, are finally center stage. Have you scheduled your shrub trimming for their big moment?

Today Divine explains the importance of trimming your shrubs.

Unsung Heroes

Often relegated to side status, shrubs lack the leading man height of trees and the diva showiness of flowers. But as journeymen plants, they work all year round, mainly in the background, doing their part to elevate your landscape as a whole.

This time of year, your shrubs are getting their time to shine. With the flowers gone and the trees shedding their leaves, for many yards, shrubs are the only plant life that still thrives during the autumn and winter months.

But while your shrubs ask very little, they need a bit of care to look their best.

What Do Shrubs Need?

Shrubs don’t need much. They need what all plants need: soil, water, and food. And the ecosystem around them affects them, so this time of year, it’s essential to clean up around them.

Cleanup

Landscape cleanup involves removing plant debris. Cleanup matters because it prevents shrubs and other plants from getting what they need and can trap water between themselves and the ground, creating the possibility of mold.

Mulch

Mulch is a lot like shrubs because it’s that supporting player that doesn’t always get the appreciation it deserves. However, in the winter, mulch is one of the only other landscape items that add color to your yard, and like shrubs, it’s about time to elevate mulch to a starring role.

Mulch is not often thought about as much in the fall and winter as when planting in the spring, but if you have perennials, trees, or shrubs, mulch is essential to them in the colder months. Mulch acts as an insulator to prevent the roots of your all-year plants from freezing, allowing them to return to full glory in the spring.

Shrub Pruning

Pruning is critical to the health of your trees and shrubs. When you prune, you cut off all the unhealthy parts of the plant. Pruning can also be used to describe the process of removing entire plants that are unhealthy, especially if they risk affecting the rest of your landscape.

Pruning allows the healthier parts of the plant to get all the energy so it’s not wasted on the parts that won’t survive. But overdoing it can have the opposite effect.

Trimming is often described as pruning, but the processes are different, which brings us to the main subject of what your shrubs need this time of year.

Shrub Trimming

So, we’ve established that pruning and trimming aren’t the same things. What’s the difference?

Where pruning shrubs involves removing the parts that have already died or risk dying, shrub trimming is more like grooming your shrubs. But, like pruning, it’s important not to overdo it.

There are two primary reasons for shrub trimming: health and beauty.

Shrub Health

Like pruning, shrub trimming is essential to the plant’s health. Removing the ends of shrubs’ branches allows vital energy to focus on the roots and the base of the shrubs. In addition, trimming is critical for winter health because it prevents the plants from keeping their extremities healthy – kind of like how you wear gloves!

Beauty

Many people trim their shrubs primarily for beauty. We’ve all seen topiaries shaped to look like anything from perfect squares to animals. You don’t need to shape your shrubs to look like anything, but trimming to maintain some shape is essential to prevent them from getting shabby.

A word of caution, though: inexperienced trimmers make mistakes easily. It’s easy to make a shrub uneven and then overcompensate, going back and forth until there’s almost nothing left!

Ready to Trim Some Shrubs?

Leaves are falling, and fall is amping up! And as temperatures also drop, your shrubs will rise. You’re armed with all you need to ensure your shrubs are safe, healthy, and beautiful going into the fall and winter.

So are you ready to schedule a shrub trimming? Like a neat lawn, a neat (and healthy) shrub isn’t just beautiful; it’s Divine. So call now to get some Divine prevention instead of intervention!