Prune your own landscape plants to be used in holiday decorations

This has become such a popular event that patients intentionally schedule their treatment to get one of these swags made with loving hands. This project recently won a state MGV award for community service.

Before cutting greens or pruning landscape plants, we have a brief class on how to cut them properly. This means pruning plants without leaving them looking like they have been pruned. This preserves their natural shape.

Most evergreens (except pines) can be pruned at this time of the year to be used for holiday decorations. I make porch pots with Norway and blue spruce. These are stiff and can be used as the base for the rest of the “softer” greens.

I add boxwood, juniper, Scotch pine, and some deciduous stems such as redtwig and yellowtwig dogwoods, contorted willow, and basically anything else in the landscape that might provide color or texture. I follow it up with a few baubles and bows to complete the ensemble.

When cutting all the above, except pines, make the pruning cuts down toward the center of the plant, removing branches or branch tips that are sticking out the farthest. The cuts won’t show, and spring growth will eventually cover any holes.

Pines are different. All pines have buds at the tips of the branches. If you look at a pine branch, you won’t see any buds up and down the branch as you do on a spruce. If you remove the greens at the tips, including the buds, there will be no more growth on that branch.

You can still use pine tips in decorations, but be judicious as you cut. Cutting a branch in the middle and leaving a stub results in dieback of that branch. As pines age, they lose their needles, and you are left with a naked branch.

Be selective in using pine branches and cut back to the next juncture or branch, without leaving stubs. White pines are excellent for decorations as they are light and airy and add a different texture.

The best time to prune pines, if you are inclined to do so, is in the spring when the new growth begins. As the candles or new growth expand, you can pinch them or cut them back halfway. This produces a bushier tree.

If you are fortunate to get hollies to grow in this area (they prefer acidic soil), you can also use them in decorations. I have a few that are struggling, so I cut just a few branches here and there.