Complete Lawn Care, Inc. is excited to share this story from the from the Bethesda Community Garden Club March 2013 newsletter:

Pruning Workshop at Davis Library with Eric Wenger
Photos by Vickie Baily

Eric Wenger demonstrates how to prune a doublefile viburnum.

On March 8, Janet Fernandez arranged a pruning workshop with Master Gardener Eric Wenger. In the top, left photo he is demonstrating how to prune a doublefile viburnum. In the photo below, he’s using his ARS long-handed pruners to lop off holly branches. It was a cold, windy day, but the workshop was so informative that all twelve participants stayed until it was over. Some things the participants learned:

1. It’s better to use a gas-powered trimmer than a lawnmower on liriope. You don’t want to find shredded edges on the newly-cut stems.
2. Now is a great time to do restorational pruning. Just be careful you don’t take off any flower-buds if you’re hoping for blooms yet this spring.
   

   Eric Wenger uses his ARS longhanded pruners to lop off holly branches.

3. It’s always a good time to prune away deadwood.
4. If you do restorational pruning on an azalea or rhododendron,  it will be not just one year before you have blooms, but two. The first year the plant has to put out new branches and leaves and then the second year, it can put buds on those. This is why both Randy Best and Eric recommend cutting back only a third of the plant at a time.

The Staff at Complete Lawn Care, Inc.
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