How To Remove A Desert Spoon Plant

In honor of Halloween, I idea that I would practice a 'scary' post for all of yous.

At present, this post isn't filled with ghouls, witches, skeletons or zombies. But that doesn't brand information technology any less scary.

Over the years, I have photographed examples of truly horrific pruning, which are quite scary 😉

Alarm: The following images are non for the faint of heart…

These used to be Jacaranda trees. I say "used to" considering they died because of this astringent and unnecessary pruning.

This is a photo of a Red Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) that was pruned the incorrect way.

Unfortunately, this was a landscape that I was in charge of xiv years ago next to the clubhouse on a golf course.

My well-intentioned crew fellow member, thought he was doing me a favor by pruning them for me. He was then proud of the work he had washed, that he came into my office and asked me to come exterior and meet his handiwork.

I must say, that it was hard to criticize him because he was then proud of his piece of work. Needless to say, I transferred him to doing more clean-up and less pruning effectually the golf course.

A few months after, he returned to his small boondocks in Mexico where he became mayor 🙂

*This is what Red Yucca are supposed to look like when in flower…

As you tin can see, yous don't cut the grass-similar, succulent foliage below – always. The flowers tin be pruned to the base of operations when they die. If the base clump become to wide, and so divide the base much like you would perennials.

This photo was taken of some other landscape expanse about 12 years agone that I was in accuse of by another golf course. I made sure that the crew did not prune it 😉

Final calendar month, I was in the historic district of downtown Phoenix returning from a landscape consultation when I drove by these very sad California Fan Palms.

While fall is the time to prune dorsum – this is NOT the way to do information technology. As well much was removed. For guidelines on how to clip palm trees, click here.

This was a cute Palo Brea tree. Unfortunately, it was 'topped' in lodge for the homeowner to preserve their view of the mountains.

'Topping' copse is very bad for trees. It leaves the upper branches open up to sunburn, which is frequently followed by insect infestations or disease.

In fact, topping trees causes the tree to grow faster, to replace the lost foliage, which leads to an increased demand for pruning. The branches that announced subsequently 'topping' have a very weak zipper, which makes the new branches a hazard because they are in danger of breaking off.

**If a tree is blocking a view that is important to you – then remove the tree instead of subjecting it to torturing information technology with this type of pruning.

Here is another instance of 'topping'. This parking lot in Scottsdale, has trees like this.

Believe it or not, this 'topped' tree is a Willow Acacia (Acacia salicina).

This is what information technology should look similar…

Difficult to believe that they are the same type of tree, isn't it?

I don't think that I have always seen an agave pruned so badly before.

The only time yous demand to clip an agave is to remove the bottom leaves, once they dice.

I call back that this agave would have looked much nicer if they had left it alone, like the one below…

It would also be much healthier and less likely to be susceptible to insect assail.

Believe information technology or not, these are citrus trees.

I could hardly believe my eyes when I drove by and saw what had happened to these copse.

You may be thinking that maybe they suffered from severe frost impairment and had to exist cut back. Only, I clinch you, this wasn't the example. I worked just downwards the road from this house and at that place was no reason for these trees to be pruned this severely.

Ideally, citrus trees are pruned in March, concentrating on removing dead branches and suckers.

In fact, did you know that the lower branches produce more fruit that tastes sweeter than that on the higher branches? That is why you run across citrus growers letting the lower branches of their trees grow instead of pruning them upward into tree shapes.

**Just don't let any branches (suckers) from below the bud union abound because they are from the root stock and are thorny and volition produce sour fruit.

Much like the Red Yucca I showed y'all earlier, these Desert Spoon have been butchered.

They as well did the same to their own Red Yucca, off to the correct.

Desert Spoon has a cute, natural course.

The only pruning to be done is to remove the lesser leaves once they turn brown and die.

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I hope you haven't been to 'scared' by these scary pruning practices.

Sometimes it is easy to go carried away when pruning. Simply it is important to remember that a plant's leaves make the nutrient for the plant. Take away the power of the plant to brand food, it volition re-route resource normally used for dealing with environmental stresses likewise as defenses against insects and illness toward growing new leaves.

This will make your plants/trees more susceptible to other problems, not to mention leaving them ugly.

"Scary" Pruning Practices and the Unfortunate Results