Master – CNPLC – Pruning

Theodore Payne Education > Master – CNPLC – Pruning
  1. Learning objectives
    1. Identify three reasons to prune along with appropriate techniques to achieve each desired effect
    2. Identify proper techniques and seasons for pruning lilac, manzanitas, and sages
    3. Identify the basics of proper tool hygiene
  2. Homework review
    1. Review 12-month maintenance calendar
    2. Discuss discrepancies that may occur or that you noted: insects, disease, etc., and note IPM strategies to regain garden health.
  3. Discussion: Reasons, seasons, and ways to prune
  4. In-class exercise
    1. Create a list of the features and ways in which your clients like to have their gardens pruned. What plants will work under these guidelines?
  5. Discussion: Pruning hygiene and tools
    1. Be sure to sanitize pruners in between gardens, and even within gardens if you are pruning diseased material.
  6. Discussion: Fee-based pruning care
  7. Resources
    1. Book: O’Brien, Bart, Betsy Landis, and Ellen Mackey. 2006. Care & Maintenance of Southern California Native Plant Gardens / Cuidado y mantenimiento de jardines de plantas nativas del sure de California. Pages/páginas: viii, 238. Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Los Angeles. Out of print; look for it in the library.
    2. Book: Bornstein, Carol, David Fross, and Bart O’Brien. 2005. California Native Plants for the Garden. Cachuma Press, Los Olivos, CA. Chapter 4: Native Plant Care
    3. Download: CA Native Plant Maintenance Data Sheet
  8. Homework
    1. Organize flashcards into groups of plants with similar pruning needs, download and use your CA Native Plant Maintenance Data Sheet as a guide. Be ready to discuss observations in the next class.
  9. Key figures, graphs, and concepts
    1. See Handout: CA Native Plant Maintenance Data Sheet by species
    2. Reasons to Prune
      1. Rejuvenation – stimulate new growth; remove unproductive, often woody growth
      2. Aesthetics – remove dead, damaged, unsightly, or faded parts; redirect growth, including shaping (e.g. into a hedge, small tree, or to expose an attractive feature)
      3. Plant health – remove diseased or infested parts, improve air circulation, remove crossed branches, compensate for overplanting, mitigate damage from animals or storms, remove mistletoe

CA Native Plant Maintenance Data Sheet

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