How to Prune Azaleas With Electric Hedge Trimmers

How to Prune Azaleas With Electric Hedge Trimmers

Bringing bursts of spring colour to gardens, azaleas (Rhododendron spp.) Benefit from regular pruning Chico, but electric hedge trimmers usually aren’t the best tools for the job. Azaleas are hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture Shrub Removal hardiness zones 5 through 8 and grow 2 to 12 feet tall and just one and a half times as wide as their height, depending on the cultivar. Standard pruning Flagstaff controls their magnitude and promotes flowering, but hedge trimmers are just acceptable for azaleas growing as a formal hedge.

A Close Shave

Electric hedge trimmers remove shoot hints on azaleas and promote flowering above the surface of the Landscaping. Azaleas sprout five or six fresh flowering shoots straight below Tree Pruning cuts. Pruning Boise azaleas with hedge trimmers causes them to generate unnatural-looking flushes of blooms within the surface of the shrubs the subsequent calendar year. At a formal Lawn Care featuring regular shapes and patterns this could be the desirable effect, but azaleas usually seem more attractive when person shoots are selectively pruned at varying lengths, which reduces the magnitude of shrubs but maintains their natural types.

A Cut in Time

Prune mature azaleas in spring to avoid reduced flowering displays the subsequent calendar year. Wait till azaleas have attained the desired size before starting regular annual Stump Removal. Azaleas form flower buds in late spring through early summer, so don’t prune them after July 4th. If Tree Planting azaleas with electric hedge trimmers, wear long trousers, a long-sleeved shirt, gloves and safety goggles, and remove 3 or 4 inches of shoots after flowering is over. Pruning with pruning shears can also be carried out at this time. Azaleas naturally grow into attractive forms, and small pruning might be required.

A Choice Cut

Azaleas maintain their organic, attractive types when pruned with pruning shears. Sterilize pruning shear blades by wiping them with rubbing alcohol, and prune around 1 foot along the stems, cutting just above a bud. Prune the longest shoots or every third or sixth shoot more intensely, according to the shrub’s size. For example, remove two feet or longer stems on large azaleas. This pruning process promotes growth within the center of shrubs, creating thick, complete foliage and natural-looking flowering displays. Pruning azaleas at stem bases is useless because expansion buds seem all along the stems, and the shrubs sprout new stems and leaf to fill any gaps created by pruning.

A New Leaf

A three-year pruning program rejuvenates overgrown azaleas. Prune one-third of overgrown azaleas’ stems after flowering, selecting the longest and thickest cutting and shoots them where they join branches, using sterilized pruning shears or a pruning saw. Prune the remaining stems 1 to 2 ft along only above a growth bud. Repeat the same way the subsequent two years to slowly decrease azaleas without shocking them. Some glaring azaleas can withstand more extreme pruning, removing branches and stems at knee height, but shrubs require a few years to recoup and occasionally die.