Japanese Gardens – Pruning & Maintenance

December 23, 2011

the "dome" Japanese garden plant shape

If you are interested in Japanese gardens you should know that the most common plant shape found in Japanese gardens is the tamamono, or “dome” shape. It is the easiest and and perhaps the least expensive way to add more Japanese style pruning to your garden. When visiting a Japanese garden you will see this shape over and over. As shown in the picture of our Japanese garden project in Minnesota, one we designed, built and maintain, you will see five of these dome shaped plants. There is a group of three Lilacs, one Yew and one Mugho Pine. All of these plants are excellent for this basic Japanese garden shape. When pruning and maintaining this garden shape it is important to start from the top and work your down, just as we do with other Japanese garden pruning techniques. It is a mistake to start pruning at the bottom, as this often promotes a bottom that becomes to narrow. There is often more new growth at the top and where it often needs to be thinned out.

The three varieties of plants seen in the picture of garden project a nice variety from the group of three deciduous Lilacs , to a long needled Mugo Pine and a short needled Yew.  The Lilac is a Dwarf Koren Lilac which has a smaller leaf size than the many of the Lilacs and shears nicely, as shown in the photo.  Lilacs of course grow more quickly than the evergreens, which means they will  reach a tamamono form more quickly.  It also means that the new growth will need to be pruned more frequently during the season.  A third to a half of the candles, or new growth, on the Mugo Pine will also need to be cut back when shaping this plant.  The Yew are one of my favorite evergreens for tamamono shrubs they are easy shear and hold their form nicely.  You can prune this plant and the Lilac using shears.

If you would like our help with your Japanese garden project please contact us, Niwa Design Studio, at 952-470-1882.

Posted in Asian Gardens, Design Ideas, Garden Types, Japanese Garden Design, Landscape, Maintenance, Specimen Plants