Pruning and Shaping Evergreens

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Susan Mason

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Keep your evergreens ever beautiful with a little shaping.

Evergreen trees are a time-starved gardeners’ dream – that’s because they don’t need much pruning. Even so, some conifers can benefit from some occasional shaping to enhance their natural look, as well as from some light pruning to promote density.

For pruning purposes, conifers can be divided into three groups: pines, conifers with branches that whorl off a main trunk like spokes from an axis (think spruce and fir), and other conifers that have soft growth and random, unwhorled branches (like arborvitae and juniper).

On pines, you can encourage dense foliage by pruning back the growing tips before the needles unfold. To do this, wait until spring or early summer, when the immature needles are packed around the stem and resemble candles. When the developing candles have reached their full length but the needles are still soft, cut them back to one-half their length.

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With a little work and the right wire-mesh frame, you can hop to a whole new level of evergreen pruning.

Now for those whorled conifers with a naturally symmetrical growth habit that’s very attractive (firs, spruces and related evergreens) – they rarely need anything more than shaping. You can lightly prune them in winter and use their branches for your holiday decorations. When pruning, always make your cuts so that living, green tissue is left on a stem.

As for those other conifers with a random branching habit (arborvitae, hemlocks, junipers, yews and their kin), they can take a heavier pruning. You can prune them back any time from early spring through the middle of summer, although they’ll grow back most quickly after pruning in spring. It’s always best to avoid cutting into hardened older wood. Instead, be sure some green foliage remains on the part of the branches you cut back.

For a little more guidance in “shape pruning” young needle-bearing evergreen trees to restore symmetry and balance, grab your hand pruners, a pruning saw and gloves, then take the steps shown in the following pictures and described in their captions. With a little shear shaping, your evergreens will remain ever beautiful.

Facts

Especially in cold-winter climates, evergreens are prized for adding a touch of color to an otherwise bare winter landscape.
Topiaries have been popular in Europe, Asia and other locales around the world throughout history. Artifacts of ancient Romans and Greeks depict topiary shrubs, as do the Chinese and Persians.
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Tips

To fashion a topiary from a young plant, place a wire frame of the shape you desire over the plant. As the plant begins to grow through the frame, trim it back to within 2-3 inches of the frame, using the wire as a guide. Continue to cut the plant back as necessary from spring through late summer, refraining from any pruning during the fall or winter months.
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Evergreens – especially pines and yew – are sometimes pruned to create sculptural interest in a garden. By cutting off selected branches, you can reveal the interesting bends and forms in some of the other branches, leaving needle groups isolated at their tips and along their lengths. This sculpted look has long been part of Japanese-themed gardens and can be used to bring an Asian look to your landscape.

Faqs

Q: What’s a broad-leaved evergreen?
A: Broad-leaved evergreens simply have leaves rather than needles. Two examples are the Southern magnolia tree and rhododendrons. Prune broad-leaved evergreens in spring after their growth slows. Follow the same approach as you would use for a deciduous tree, removing dead and crossing branches, preserving the strongest leaders, and limiting growth to the tree’s outline.

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