Contributed by Ethan Mimnaugh, Mooloolah Landcare Nursery
MANY of us have been told that native plants cannot be pruned. Despite many of us pruning Lillypillys (Syzygium species), we still believe this myth. Some plants require pruning to occur at the correct timing, and other plants require a more thoughtful touch than just swipes with a hedger. Today I want to explore how pruning natives can allow you to grow more species in your gardens, pots, and other places where size is limited.
First, some general pruning tips. It is important to always leave a node at the end of the branch. The node is the area from which leaves, and new branches can sprout. Ensure you use sharp tools which will reduce extra damage so the plant can heal quicker. Finally, make sure you are cutting the plant on an angle, such that rain or water cannot sit on top of the cut.
The native plants most commonly trimmed in our area tend to be vigorous growers, often from riparian zones, as they have evolved to resprout after floodwaters knock them over. Plants like the Lillypillys, and Bottlebrushes (Melalecua species) are often grown and pruned to be over 25x smaller than they could grow in the wild.
A few species of tree in our area are deciduous, and can be cut in late winter, once the coldest days are over. These trees change their metabolism over winter, and so cutting them at the right time will mean that most of their energy will be in their roots and trunk, and not be lost when a branch is pruned.
The White Cedar (Melia azerderach), and Red Cedar (Toona ciliata) are two consistently deciduous trees. Others like the Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius) or Deciduous Fig (Ficus henneana) will lose their leaves when the climate and season align, often in drier times.
The smaller the plant, the more important it is to us, that it has a bushy shape. Formative pruning, the act of pruning a plant before it has fully grown, is the best way to achieve a stable, bushy shape from a plant. To get a good bushy shape, allow the plant to reach 50-75% of the height you want, and then take a small tip prune to force branches to emerge and form a nush. You can experiment with this on your more vigorous plants before trying the slower growing things.
If you don’t know how to prune a specific plant, wait for the new growth, and take a tiny snip off the plant. See how the plant responds with backbudding (resprouting on the bark), branching, and healing. Learning your plants takes time and patience. If you have a native plant and you want to know about pruning it, contact Mooloolah Landcare or come in during our opening hours. We love to chat about gardens, native, and maintaining them.