I love the idea of pruning hell. The last time I heard the term, I was sitting in the late Cass Turnbull’s pruning seminar. Cass ran the Plant Amnesty organization until last year. While on vacation in Hawaii, as she walked out of the ocean she suffered a massive heart attack. I have no idea how Plant Amnesty is doing now.
The seminar was excellent until we got to Abelias. Since Abelias send out many soft spikes we have to deal with them. Oh, no, here comes pruning hell. I chuckled to myself.
Welcome to pruning hell
I can see how many gardeners would be put off by the idea of having to constantly power shear their shrubs. The late Cass Turnbull felt sorry for me, I’m sure.
And yet, power shearing is a necessary evil in strata landscape maintenance. I would love to let Abelias spike out but there is only so much space in strata complexes. It would never fly.
Also, power shearing keeps our crews occupied in that pleasant window between early spring and summer heat waves. There’s nothing hellish about this.
One sad exception
Shearing Japanese maples (Acer palmatum) is as close to pruning hell as I can get. Considering limited time and many new shoots, companies reach for their power shears. I wish there was another way. Power shears and maple crowns make for an awkward dance. At work I’m the landscape supervisor stoic; at home, in private, I weep.
Garden revolution
Authors Larry Weaner and Thomas Christopher argue in their excellent book “Garden revolution” that we have it all wrong. We construct landscapes and then we struggle to dominate them.
In the book they show you how to create a meadow from scratch where you can let nature do its thing. This, then, is your escape from pruning hell. And then your kids go hungry.
I love it in pruning hell
Power pruning and hand pruning bring order to landscapes. Just consider one commercial site example.
If you have a career in landscape maintenance, get used to pruning hell. If you’re a gardener, by all means, employ whatever you can to avoid constant shearing. And if space allows, create a new meadow from scratch.
I love it when I come home to healthy, happy kids.
