Tidying Conifers

Garden plants and greenery tend to go through phases of popularity and whilst roses and pansies might have once been the most popular flowers for British homeowners to grow in their gardens, it is now more common to see conifers, evergreens and ferns.

The reason for this is the ease with which they can be grown, the huge amount of variety of colours, styles and sizes available and the current fashions which are decided by garden designers and the industry as a whole.

Although they might be classed as minimum maintenance, there are a number of principles and habits which owners should follow in order to get the most benefit and beauty from their evergreens and one of the most important of these is regular pruning. Strimmers and Black and Decker strimmer spares can not only help with this for the good of the plant but can make life easier on the gardener.

Establishing Conifers

Although evergreens are seen as being “tougher” or more hard wearing than other plants and flowers, they still require a great deal of care in order to keep them looking strong and appealing and that they reach their maximum growing potential.

There is much in the way of advice for anyone wishing to grow and establish conifers. The quality of the conifer is paramount, as is the planting and care they have in their first few years. Whilst a larger tree might look more appealing in a shorter space of time, planting an older tree can be tricky as they struggle to cope with the re-establishment.

Feeding and Watering

Conifers do not need much in the way of feeding and in most cases, a single annual feeding is more than sufficient for them. Further to this, and for the benefit of owners who enjoy their low maintenance appeal, conifers need little water once they have been established.

A further practice which may help with the growth and appeal of conifers is mulching. Mulching involves giving the area surrounding the plant a protective covering such as pine needles or bark. These can help to supress weeds, conserve moisture and provide nutrients. Mulching is often done through the winter to protect the roots from frost and cold damage.

Pruning

Discoloured branches can not only look unsightly but can also be an indication of ill health in the conifer. This makes it extremely important to remove these branches but the size of conifers can make this very difficult. Using a strimmer and Black and Decker strimmer spares can make light of even the most hard to reach pruning job.

Furthermore, it is not uncommon for conifers to become too big for their planting site and this is often the most common reason for pruning, where the top, sides or bottom branches of a conifer must be removed to re-introduce light and space into an area. Because this is an exceptionally large job in some cases, it is necessary to use tools and strimmers can be extremely effective in this regards, both with the power and the ability to reach without having to employ ladders.

Image Courtesy: Flickr/gnuru