• Site Assessment • Site Preparation & Establishment • Design Pointers
• Clipping Theory • Clipping Tools • Clipping Technique • Simple Shapes
• Complex Shapes & Figures • Problem Solving • Growing Topiary

• Site Preparation
Various factors come into play in the design choice of site, but once
decided it is up to us to give our topiary the very best start in life
there. To ensure their continuing success we must do all we can to improve the soil. It is relatively easy to alter deep soil conditions before planting, but nigh on impossible later.

Good drainage is just about the most important factor to be considered here.

If it is OK then that is excellent, if it is not then proper drainage must be provided before planting or subsequent death of the topiary will be the result. Wide and deep cultivation, incorporating well rotted organic matter will improve the soil structure and enhance early growth.



Planting
Containerized plants can in theory be planted year round, but need close attention to their watering needs if planted during a dry Spring or Summer.
Bare root or root-balled plants are usually planted when dormant. For
evergreens the best time would be late Autumn or alternatively, very early Spring.
Containers or root-wrapping should be removed and damaged roots cut back.
In the case of container grown specimens, some roots should be teased out of their tight circular growth pattern. In all cases, the root ball should have been soaked prior to planting. It is important that they are not planted too deeply, but at the same depth that they were in the pot or nursery bed. Care should also be taken to firm them in well, ensuring from the start there is a close link from roots to soil.
Where root systems may have been damaged on moving, the main hazard for the plants will be from desiccation until a new root system develops. Consider sheltering new plantings from drying winds and sunshine or pruning away a proportion of top growth to achieve a new balance with a smaller root system.

After-care
Often, during the first season following transplanting, trees and shrubs of all sorts, and of course topiary in particular, will make very little top growth. This should not be seen as a problem as they are usually concentrating their energies into producing new root systems.
Close attention should however be paid to ensuring plants do not dry out during their first season (or possibly longer). Bear in mind that although the surrounding soil may be wet, until a plant¹s new roots succeed in growing out into it, it will be limited to the same small pot-sized root ball for all its water provision!
Particularly in the early years, competition from garden plants and weeds should be strictly discouraged. Keep as wide an area around the specimen free of all growth as you can.



Formative pruning and training
During the first season following planting, little top growth will be made as the tree or shrub establishes itself and builds a new root system in its new position. After a year though, we can approach it with a view to making the first formative cuts.
The most important thing to establish at this stage is the basic framework of growth from which all the shapes final surfaces will hang. This often means in practice, choosing a central leader to be allowed to grow up whilst removing or reducing any competitors. It may be that half the growth of a plant has to be removed at this stage, but that is fine so long as the part that is left suits our purpose.
It is important too, to emphasise the ideal shape of wide at the bottom, tapering to the top - thus ensuring as much light as possible reaches all parts. Whatever the final size and shape of the form, it may well be grown on most of the way to that size as a cone. The strong central leader is all important to most shapes and shoots and branches should be allowed initially to grow out from it - even in areas ultimately destined to have bare trunks.
Even when removed later, they will have served to greatly strengthen and thicken the main stem.



When topiary is fully grown, our aim should be to clip off very nearly all the current years growth each season, to retain virtually unchanged our chosen forms. Young plants that are being developed - that is grown up to size - also need to be clipped once a year. Here though, they need to be cut back much less severely - leaving anything up to half the annual growth intact.

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