Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with pruning

To cut or not to cut (palm tree)

jaimev — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 22:42:35 -0800

We have a palm tree that's shaped like a "V". Can we cut one of the segments (highlighted) without killing the tree? The segment no longer has fronds coming out from the top. It appears dead or dying. Can this be safely cut without harming the other segment?

Sharpening my pruning katana as we speak

TungstenChef — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:14:31 -0800

Help this young grasshopper become a tree pruning ninja. The good news is that the previous owner of our house had the foresight to plant a lot of cool trees and shrubs 20 years ago (primarily ficus, oleander, and acacia). The bad news is that he was terrible at pruning and we seem to have inherited every conceivable problem...tree branches growing against the house, ugly dead wood in the center, wild overgrown tangles, and lack of leaves in many shaded areas to name a few.

'Tis the season for pruning in Arizona and I want to learn how to be really good at it. As in, Japanese garden good. Does anyone have any recommendations for really good books on the subject? Or other ways to learn how to do it right? I can find some basic info on the web but I want to go far more in depth.

Bald In The Middle

modernsquid — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 14:32:40 -0800

How do i stop this hydrangea from sagging? I always see beautiful hydrangea plants that are so full with many many blooms.

Mine does not look like that.

The blooms seem to be too heavy and so the middle is quite bare and exposed. The blooms all sag towards the outside. If i lift up some of the blooms i can see other, smaller blooms just starting to grow, getting crushed by the weight of the older, larger blooms.

I think some pruning might be in order, but my google research has only lead me to more confusion. I'm not sure what type of hydrangea this is and realize that information is important on how to prune. I didn't plant this hydrangea so i don't know about its past care.

A photo of my plant is here.

Thanks!!!