A spiral is such a popular topiary physical body that some companies trade fake credit card helical trees for use in the entryway of homes . While you could easily buy a bogus spiral Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree topiary , you could also make your own from an evergreen plant tree with a pyramidical shape and dense growth . A spiral topiary is a progression from a cone topiary shape . Once you reach a strobilus , you simply cut a helical groove into the shape with hired hand shear .
1. Select a Plant
pick out a plant specimen for your topiary with an upright central radical and a triangular ontogenesis riding habit . Some estimable candidates include juniper ( Juniperus spp . ) , cypress ( Cupressus spp . ) , boxwood ( Buxus spp . ) or cedar ( Cedrus spp.).Michigan State Universityrecommends using pencil point juniper ( Juniperus communis ' Compressa , ' Department of Agriculture zones 2 - 9 ) because its irksome emergence habit will allow it to withstand its helical conformation with fewer trimmings .
2. Trim Plant Into Cone Shape
Make a rough cut of the plant to shape it into a cone . If the plant ’s foliage is not yet dense enough to foreshorten a spiral , allow the plant to turn for 3 months before shaping your helix . During this prison term , the plant will branch at the cut ends so that it appears stocky . Garden Gatecautions against pruning within a calendar month or two before the first frost , which can combust the tender Modern growth that flush after a trim .
3. Affix Wide Ribbon
Tie the end of a wide ribbon , such as a surveyor ’s ribbon , to the gratuity of the plant at the top of the cone . Observe the way the flora ’s branch lay and wrap the ribbon in a spiral around the cone cell of the plant , much as you would wrap a garland string around a Christmas tree diagram .
Make the medal drop at a shallow slant at the base of the works and lessen at a progressively steeper slant as the ribbon wraps around the works . This ribbon will serve as your guide to serve you cut back the spiral configuration into the plant life . Step back from the plant and slowly circle it to determine if your coil of ribbon is space correctly over the plant .
4. Trim Into a Spiral Pattern
To shape spiraling trees , begin to make your track get going at the base of the plant and work your way upward . With one hand , lift the foliage up and away to give you access to the Department of the Interior of the tree and allow you to prune off the interior branches fall out the spiral ’s line .
5. Step Back for Perspective
Step away from the plant sporadically to look at it from a distance and assess your progress . Do this frequently to keep off making major mistake in trimming .
6. Pinch-Prune Branch Tips
abstract out the ends of the foliage when you have finished cutting them . By pinching out the ends of the shrub , you will take the affected appearance due to a strong line cut in the foliage . The pinched ends will also branch and become thicker .
Tip
Schedule steady maintenance pruning every three month . Never slay more than a third of the works ’s total loudness in any pruning session . If you may not accomplish a helix in the first pruning session , spread the preparation of the tree diagram through clip over several Roger Huntington Sessions that are space three months apart . Sanitize your shears with rubbing alcohol before making each stinger . This result will reduce the chances that you will circularise disease from one plant to another .
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