How to Trim a Podocarpus Gracilior Hedge

Despite sounding like the name of a comic book villain, Podocarpus gracilior, also known as weeping or fern Podocarpus, is a tropical evergreen tree species. The keys to its usefulness as a hedging material are the large, dense crown, fine evergreen leaves and minor pruning requirements. The branches grow very low on the trunk, and the tree can reach 50 feet in height, making it capable of easily screening or shading large areas. The Purdue University website recommends pruning your Podocarpus gracillor only lightly, each year or so, in the late winter or early spring before new growth emerges.

Long blade scissor shears
Electric hedge trimmers

Instructions

- 1
  Prune away any dead, broken, discolored or diseased foliage and branches. Place cuts down to a point of healthy tissue but not down into bare wood, if it can be avoided. Position cuts just above a lateral branch or leaf node. If an entire branch is compromised, cut it off from the trunk just outside the slightly swollen branch collar.
- 2
  Reduce the spread of the hedge or tailor the shape by trimming off the terminal tips of the branches and shoots with long blade scissor shears or electric hedge trimmers. Follow the natural form of the plant, but keep the lower portion of the hedge slightly wider than the top to ensure good sunlight coverage to the lower area, preventing defoliation that is often permanent. Trim judiciously, removing only enough live tissue to keep the hedge in bounds.
- 3
  Collect all the cuttings and loose debris from inside the canopy and any that falls to the soil below the hedge. Pathogens and pests can breed in decaying material, so spirit it away immediately after trimming.

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