Can I prune bottlebrush, Texas sage and photinia now?
You can lightly prune anything now. There are a couple of rules you should follow during summer pruning. Do not expose limbs and trunks that are being shaded by leaves to full sunlight. Always provide shade to the limbs and trunk by leaving foliage to filter the strong sun’s light. Exposing protected limbs and trunk can cause scalding of the newly exposed parts of the plant. This will attract borers. Never do any heavy pruning this time of the year. Follow the rest of these rules at all times. Never leave stubs. Always prune back to a place on the limb or stem one quarter inch from a leaf attachment. Prune flowering shrubs that flower once during the year just after they finish blooming. Prune summer flowering shrubs before any new, spring growth occurs. Plants are never “trimmed” unless it’s a hedge. Plant trimming sounds too much as if the plant is getting a haircut. This gives the wrong impression about pruning. It implies that all plants can be pruned with a hedge shears. If someon
