Generally speaking, conifers are trees and shrubs with needles that set seeds in cones. Yews, junipers and ginkgos produce cones, too, but they’re fleshy and appear berry-like. Ginkgos are ...

“Prune a conifer?” you ask. Well, as Dylan Thomas said, we need “to begin at the beginning.” Conifers are cone-bearing trees that produce tiny pollen cones in spring followed later by more substantial ...

SOPHIE: Absolutely, but it’s best to prune lightly – most don’t respond well to a heavy prune. If you cut too deeply, you’ll reveal the hard dry wood at the centre of the tree, where there is no fresh ...

Q: In December, I passed a rhododendron in full bloom. Is that normal? A: There are a few rhododendron varieties that bloom in the heart of winter. You probably saw R. ‘Rosamundi’ or R. ‘Christmas ...

Shrubs and trees can be pruned to improve structure, maximize blooms and/or fruit production, or to remove damaged or diseased branches. Such branches should be removed as soon as possible. They ...

Pruning can be a daunting task for gardeners. Like most gardening, it can be as complicated or as simple as you want to make it. Understanding the basics helps one determine the level of detail they ...

Over the summer we've occasionally talked about the joys of shrubs and trees -- or, tree-like entities, i.e. shrubs grafted on "standards" or small tree trunks. So we should probably spend a little ...

Conifers are the most prominent forest trees in North America, but are notably scarce in home gardens. Except for compact varieties of juniper (which were probably too common years ago) and arborvitae ...

COULD DWARF conifers be the ideal low-maintenance plant? They grow very slowly, have great texture and seasonal color, and need only light occasional pruning to open them up a bit. Give these cute ...

Last week I wrote about the basics of pruning. This week I’ll add a bit more detail. The main reason that plants are rarely killed by incorrect pruning is that they are very resilient. For example, ...