Shrub Maintenance Program

Seasonal Pruning Program

Continuous Shearing Program

Most contractors choose to shear shrubs indiscriminately and repeatedly (6 – 10 times) throughout the growing season. The advantage is that employees need little training, knowledge, or supervision to simply shear every plant on the property each time they are in an area. Some choose particular shapes (cones, balls, flat tops, beer kegs, etc.). This practice is detrimental to the health of the plant. The plant requires more water to recover the lost foliage. Additionally, it is extremely labor intensive which leaves other maintenance details unattended (maintenance of tree stakes, weeds, irrigation needs, etc.).

Seasonal pruning consists of trimming shrubs back to roughly half their size (on some species even more, e.g. the red bird of paradise) to allow them to grow back in to the contained space allotted to them in the following growing season. Once pruned, the shrubs remain small until the warmer weather returns.

Exceptions to the program described above are shrubs that encroach on streets or sidewalks or those which obstruct lines of sight at intersections or near road signs. These shrubs will be trimmed as needed to remain compatible with their grow space. Selective pruning of certain shrubs allows the landscape plants to be pruned while remaining aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

Download the DLC shrub management program: DLC Shrub Management Article (500KB .pdf)

DLC´s approach to shrub management is supported by experts in the landscape industry. Download an article written in the January 2006 Phoenix Home and Garden magazine:
Say No To Geometry (400KB .pdf)

	Sage This healthy Sage has reached its peak size at the end of the growing season.
	After Seasonal Hard Prune This Sage is cut back to roughly half its size. The surrounding area is cleaned and the irrigation checked.
	Natural Growth This Sage was seasonally pruned. It is growing naturally in its restricted space.