Inspiration and Insights from a Pruning Pro
Elizabeth Doyle of Yankee Clippers
Shrubs are critical to our landscapes. They’re also perhaps the most abused items in our yards. We tend to either neglect them altogether or hack them into submission. There’s little middle ground of actually caring for them.
Enter Yankee Clippers, a Bethesda, MD-based, woman-owned company that specializes in the hand pruning of shrubs and small trees. I recently had the pleasure of chatting with founder Elizabeth Doyle, who shared a wealth of thoughts on getting the best out of our lower-growing woody plants.
Before I get to the good stuff, let’s review the what and why of shrubs. A shrub has multiple woody stems and is typically under 20’ tall. It doesn’t die back to the ground in winter like herbaceous perennials and it’s shorter than a tree. Aesthetically, a layered framework of overstory and understory trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants and groundcovers just looks good. As landscape designer Rick Darke puts it, “Layering packs a maximum amount of visual interest into any one view: an incredible array of lines, forms, textures, and scales from the majestic to the minute.” From a biological perspective, “layering is an intricate and ingenious means of sharing space,” allowing the greatest number of species, each adapted to the specific conditions found at different levels, to make their homes in a single location.
Native shrubs, in particular, are ecological powerhouses. They host butterfly and moth larvae and they provide cover from predators and weather for wildlife, nesting spaces and materials for birds, nectar and pollen for pollinators, habitat for native spiders and other insects, berries and nuts for birds, small mammals, insects and amphibians, and nutrients and shade for the soil. They also filter pollutants and dust from the air and help to absorb stormwater.
I learned from Elizabeth that good hand pruning is as much art as science. Indeed, Elizabeth is an avid collector of art, including sculpture, and she brings this perceptive eye to her work in the garden. It takes more than a year of training and practice before her Yankee Clippers become fully proficient. That said, there are some basic principles we can all put to use in our gardens.
Put the right shrub in the right place. Some of our biggest maintenance headaches come from trying to nurse plants that are unhappy or restrain ones that want to take over. Before you impulse-buy that cute little flowering oakleaf hydrangea at the garden center, do your research: you’ll learn it can get eight feet tall and ten feet wide. Be sure you’ve got the space for it, as well as the right sun, soil and moisture conditions.
Stop Shearing. If you’re deliberately going for a Versailles-type topiary situation, then by all means channel Edward Scissorhands. Otherwise, there’s no reason for your plants to look like football helmets or file cabinets. They’ve got natural arching, mounding, pyramidal, vase-shaped or weeping habits that are beautiful in themselves. Many landscaping crews shear every shrub they encounter because it’s a quick and one-size-fits-all “clean-up” solution. That doesn’t mean it’s the most attractive, healthiest or even lowest-maintenance approach. Cutting a branch stimulates new growth at the cut. So if you shear the outer edges of a shrub, a raft of new twiggy shoots will sprout all along your precious smooth surface. Eventually this shades out the interior of the shrub, creating a dark, weak and empty shell that invites unwelcome pests and mold. Plus, you’ve set the stage for a quick recurrence of the very growth you tried to shave off in the first place.
“You’ve chosen your shrub for a reason,” remarks Elizabeth, “like its flower or shape.” Why eliminate its beauty by turning it into something unnatural? “A square azalea will look like a square yew.”
Instead, Start with a Strategy. The Yankee Clippers company motto is SOS, says Elizabeth, which stands for sight line, objective and structure. The first question is, from where will you be viewing the shrub? From your kitchen window? The driveway? Your patio chaise lounge? Once you establish the sight line, use that as your ongoing reference to measure your progress. The second consideration is what problem you’re trying to solve. Is your shrub blocking a window? Encroaching on a path? Leaning awkwardly? Harboring dead branches? Do you want it to screen your neighbor’s HVAC unit? Once you isolate the objective, target your pruning accordingly. The third issue is determining the inherent structure of your shrub and finding ways to highlight that essence. This is perhaps the most challenging part of the process. “It sounds simple,” Elizabeth says, “but it’s hard to put into practice.”
Cut Individual Limbs. With your SOS firmly in mind, find the branch that’s most problematic (tallest, widest, weirdest, deadest, etc.), follow it down to a natural intersection, make a clean cut there, and then step back to your sight line to assess your work. Repeat with the next most problematic branch. Continue until you’re satisfied. Using this approach may require a bigger upfront time investment than shearing. But over the long run it will save untold hours of labor. You’ll be letting light and air into the shrub’s interior, which will contribute to its vigor and longevity. Also, you’ll be stimulating growth from the inside, which will create a naturally more balanced look. It will hold its shape longer and require progressively less pruning over time. “Shrubs will tell you when they need to be pruned,” Elizabeth advises, “and all may not need the same attention.”
Use the Right Tools. Elizabeth recommends a ratchet pruner and folding saw. These are small enough to carry and operate in tight spaces. Have you ever tried a ratchet pruner? Like magic, they seem to double your strength. The saws can tackle whatever the pruner can’t handle.
Don’t Be So Afraid. It’s hard to kill a plant by pruning, so long as you place your cuts above green leaves or buds. “You can cut it to the ground and it will come back,” Elizabeth assures. Also, for most shrubs there’s no wrong time to prune. “If you’re hand pruning, the best time is when you have time.” Because you’re removing only targeted or problematic branches, you won’t impact flowering. Winter can be a particularly effective time to prune deciduous plants, as the bare branches make it easier to detect underlying structure.
A good pruning sesh has multiple benefits – for prunee and pruner alike. When it’s done well, says Elizabeth, “it will look like you haven’t been there.” The shrubs simply appear refreshed, relaxed and happier. Also, she enthuses, “pruning is the most fun thing to do in the garden. You’re creating a piece of art, and the shrubs are laughing.”
Coming from Elizabeth, pruning sounds downright delightful. Almost as much fun as ice cream cake with vanilla on top?
If you live in the DC vicinity and could use assistance with sustainable landscaping, visit Bees’ Knees Design. I’d be happy to help you.
Resources
Rick Darke, The American Woodland Garden, Timber Press, 2002.
Beth Marlowe, “Pruning in Winter: A Handler with Care,” Washington Post, December 1, 2013.
Good song too
Thank you. I needed that.