After You Prune Shrubs, Should You Fertilize?

Strategic shrub pruning maintains your lawn looking tidy when contributing to the plant’s health. In fact, yearly pruning prevents disorders from setting in while you eliminate dead leaf that impedes new growth. Blending your pruning with suitable fertilizing supplies the shrub with nutrients for healthy growth and flowering.

Evergreen Shrubs

Because evergreen shrubs do not lose their leaves in fall, you may be uncertain about when to prune them. Like other plants, evergreen shrubs create new growth in spring, if daylight hours increase, and you ought to prune in June or July, after the development subsides. Fertilize evergreen shrubs in September if the temperatures start to drop. Shrubs tend to prevent growth during hot summer weather and the roots do not utilize the fertilizer nutrients as effectively in summer. Sticking to fertilize in fall will help encourage wholesome growth the following spring.

Flowering Shrubs

If you have flowering shrubs, then you normally prune them after the last booming period in spring. This previous bloom might be in the midst of spring, depending on the kind of shrub. Fertilize these shrubs in late spring once you have finished pruning. Because the flowering shrub still has a number of its growing period before this, the fertilizer bolsters the shrub’s nutrients and encourages more leaf growth to get a dramatic blooming period next spring.

Fertilizing According to Age

Shrub nutrient needs change as the plant matures. Young shrubs, which are still growing, need fertilizers using more nitrogen. This component provides one of the major building blocks for chlorophyll production in leaves and photosynthesis cannot occur without a wholesome source of nitrogen. As shrubs mature, they simply need a balanced fertilizer for basic dirt upkeep. Your pruning should still be performed during its typical intervals, but you want to look at your soil’s mineral levels using a test kit before fertilizing mature shrubs. Over- or under-fertilizing is harmful to some plant.

New Plantings

Should you recently transplanted pruned shrubs, do not fertilize them for the first year. It’s better to soften them the following spring so that they have an opportunity to acclimate to the new dirt texture and pH. Transplants are highly sensitive and may be damaged or burned by a fertilizer application right after planting.

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