Dear Craig,

I saw on your television program how you were pruning some oleanders with a tip method. What exactly is that and should I be using it? Does this method apply to all plants?

Sherry in Chandler 

Dear Sherry,

Thank you for watching our new program. I’m very happy that you were able to pick up a few tips in our one short hour. Now let’s get to the pruning. 

First of all, pruning is a necessary but overused form of garden maintenance. We prune for several reasons. The primary reason is to shape and clean dead wood from plants that might otherwise look unsightly. But we should not have to prune our plants all of the time. Here are a few ideas to bear in mind that could reduce or eliminate some of your maintenance needs.

The reality is that many of the plants we use in today’s landscape– if planted in the right location– would not need any pruning whatsoever. And why do we plant plants in the wrong locations? The largest reason is that some of us plant shrubs and even trees that give us instant aesthetic impact without thinking about their future growth. A good example of this can be seen in many yards where plants hang over entry walks and hide windows that otherwise could be used for sunlight.

Over the years I have seen palms and agaves with their thorny fronds planted within two feet of a walkway. The outcome is always the same: A one‑sided plant that becomes a barrier or a wall along a walk with beautiful foliage on the other side. This is a true sign that we sometimes seek immediate gratification for beauty by planting the wrong plant for the location.