Tips for winter trimming of West Texas plants
The first hard freeze of winter was much later than average this year, but it finally hit and killed perennial tops. February will be here before you know it, and it’s a good time of year to cut back freeze-damaged perennials as well as give a ‘haircut’ to other landscape plants to keep them growing vigorous and to stay dense and attractive. For example, spreading/mounding plants like rosemary, artemisia and santolina tend to grow out away from their original planting point, leaving a bare unsightly section in the center. Cutting them back significantly this time of year helps the plants stay more compact and beautiful. Semi-evergreen plants like Salvia greggii and roses benefit from a trim in late winter to help with strong spring growth and to keep them tidy and healthy-looking. Cut them back about 25% to 50%, depending on how healthy their existing stems are. The more stressed and unsightly they are, the more they should be cut back.
Old shrubs that are overgrown and not as attractive as they used to look can be rejuvenated with ‘gradual renewing’ pruning. Remove a third of the oldest, tallest branches – cut them back almost to the ground, right now before new growth starts. This will stimulate fresh new growth, and the process can be repeated each year until the shrub is back into the desired condition.
Evergreen groundcovers can also benefit from a winter trimming, it will help them stay thick as well as neat and tidy. Asian Jasmine is a popular and common groundcover, for good reason – it’s a nice size and texture, is fairly easy to grow, can handle shade, and doesn’t need tons of water. A severe trim (as low as six inches) can help it grow back denser and thicker in the spring, but will cause it to look ugly for a while. A hedge trimmer is best, and a string trimmer can work but is more uneven and can accidentally dig up runners.
Mondo grass can be mowed once a year with a mower at the highest setting (no lower than four inches) to keep it looking dense and healthy. It also will look rough until spring growth fills it back in. Neither mondo grass or Asian Jasmine need any trimming to keep a more informal, natural look, but if they are damaged and need to be rejuvenated, or if a formal look is preferred, trimming now can help achieve that.
Allison Watkins is the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Agent for horticulture in Tom Green County. Contact her at aewatkins@ag.tamu.edu.
This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: Tips for winter trimming of West Texas plants
