Don't Shear: Why Johnny Can't PruneBy Cass Turnbull
I wish I were a great persuader. If I were, I would persuade the landscape maintenance establishment to take up the cause of promoting selective pruning, as opposed to shrub shearing, in order to significantly improve both the wages and status of our industry. When Is Shearing Bad and Why?
By unsustainable shearing, I mean the endless balls and boxes seen on most commercial and plenty of private landscapes. On the other hand, pruning art, such as formal hedges, topiary, knot gardens, and tamomono shearing in authentic Japanese formal gardens, is appropriate, sustainable shearing. Pruning art breaks the rules of pruning to achieve a special effect. Shearing formal hedges, for example, breaks two pruning rules: remove crossing/rubbing branches and no heading cuts. The purpose of breaking these two rules is to make a row of shrubs into a formal-looking wall. The hedge must be made up of shrubs chosen for their ability to withstand repeated shearing. The resulting maintenance costs, when compared to those of selectively pruned shrubs, are high. This is the case with all pruning art, including pollarding, pleaching, cloud pruning, and espalier. They all require high maintenance, with specific species chosen purposely to create a formal garden or garden element. Just because plants are sheared does not mean they are topiary. Costly and Time-Consuming This Is Not News
The facts that there is a desirable skill set called selective pruning and that shrub shearing is considered abhorrent by a certain percentage of the population are not news to most people who have been in the landscape business for any length of time. Why does shearing persist even among the larger, more successful companies? If it is wrong and it costs more, why does it continue to be the industry standard? Why, why, why? The Maintenance Mentality
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