Many of us are familiar with how over-pruning can take away much of the beauty of flowering shrubs, in addition to contributing to their early death.
But, have you ever wondered what they look on the inside?
I found this ‘ugly’ example alongside the drive-thru of Taco Bell.
It isn’t pretty, is it?
The side of the ‘Green Cloud’ Texas Sage was sheared away because it was growing over the curb.
The result of planting the shrub too close.
You can see the thin layer of leaves that cover the shrub and the dark, interior where sunlight seldom reaches.
If this resembles your shrub(s), you can fix them.
Below, is a link to a previous blog post of how to do ‘renewal pruning’ on your desert flowering shrubs and what they look like as they grow back.
You can still do this in April for your Cassia (Senna species), Sage (Leucophyllum species), Ruellia, Fairy Duster (Calliandra species) and Lantana shrubs.
Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a horticulturist, certified arborist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."
Thanks especially for the point about planting too close; more of my "peers" need to heed that maxim! But nice there's good news to bring many shrubs back from poor pruning and shaping, too.
Important advice, it will grow back and look even better. When I see this shearing of Texas sage I wonder why they do this at all. The natural form is so much prettier and shearing ruins the blooms.