Local landscape pros discuss why pruning service is essential About a year after we've installed your new landscape, comes the time for maintaining it, so it continues to provide beauty for you every day. Even if you’re new to gardening, you probably are aware of the need for pruning of shrubs, plants and trees. In our subtropical environment, pruning is imperative to keep your garden from starting to look like a jungle. But it's also important to prune trees, plants and shrubs properly. Improper pruning can cause your landscape to die off too quickly. Peer Landscaping has been serving the landscape needs of Southwest Florida for years by providing state of the art landscape design, professional installation services and landscape maintenance using our local landscape expertise to help any space thrive. In today’s article, we’ll discuss the reasons why pruning your plants is essential and a few benefits you can expect to see when your plants are pruned correctly using our garden service. We’ll start out by saying it’s usually not necessary, or healthy, to prune a plant or tree during its first year after being installed. Most plants require this time to become established and develop their root system, but after the one year mark it becomes necessary to regularly prune your plants. Pruning stems is essential for plant growth, and the plant’s overall health. Stems on a plant which have stopped producing new growth are an unproductive drain on resources. The plant will continue sending water and nutrients to these areas, but since they have ended their lifecycle, they are only serving to drain the overall resources of the rest of the plant. This is why it's so important to "deadhead" flowers. Deadhead is simply another term for pruning off the dead and dying flowers from a plant so it produces more. It’s always a good idea to remove any stems which show no signs of life. Our experts will remove these stems just above the last sign of life. When this happens, the plant’s biology signals to start producing new growth. When done for the entire plant, this ensures all the energy is being put toward growing and producing parts. While you’ll notice the above-ground improvement in the quality of your new stems, there is also improvement which happens to a plant’s root system when it is pruned. The other part of the biological equation with the new stem growth is stronger and deeper root development. When the plant is pruned, it sends a “stress” signal to the root system, which responds by kicking its growth into overdrive. The result of these two processes together is typically a healthier and stronger plant because of the pruning. In addition to ensuring the health of the plant, pruning is usually essential to preserve the appearance of the space and the curb appeal of your property. No one wants unshapely or half-dead plants in their garden, yard or commercial space, and pruning can ensure everything looks neat and tidy. When you sign up for our gardening service, our landscape experts come out to your house on a regular basis to look over your garden, and prune it for maximum growth and beauty. You will soon notice how much better your trees, plants and shrubs do when they are pruned regularly. If you have more questions about our gardening service, or have a need for a new or existing landscaping project, please contact us today and we will be happy to help!