| |
BEST TIME TO PRUNE DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU'RE PRUNING
Pruning seems to be a perplexing problem for many gardeners. One reason may be that various species require pruning at different times of the year.
Here are some guidelines for pruning woody plants.
As stated here before, oaks should not be pruned from now until late summer. Pruning during the spring and early summer makes oaks susceptible to the spread of oak wilt.
To prevent infection by a bacterial disease called fireblight, do not prune the following species until they go dormant next fall: Apples, flowering crabapples, pears, mountain ash, hawthorn and cotoneaster.
The following species have free-flowing sap and will bleed if pruned in early spring: maple (including box elder), honey locust, butternut, walnut, birch, ironwood, blue beech and elm. Wait until summer to prune these species.
Trees and shrubs that bloom early in the growing season on old wood should be pruned immediately after they finish blooming. These include apricot, azalea, chokeberry, chokecherry, currant, deutzia, forsythia, Juneberry, lilac, magnolia, flowering plums and cherries, and early blooming spirea.
Shrubs that bloom late but on old wood should be pruned early in the spring before growth starts, or immediately after bloom. Examples are mock orange, potentilla, shrub or old roses, and weigela.
Shrubs grown primarily for their foliage or fruit should be pruned in the spring before growth starts. Examples are barberry, buffaloberry, caragana, cranberry, dogwood, euonymus, ninebark, alpine currant, honeysuckle, sumac, Cistena sandcherry, smokebush, virburnum and winterberry.
Shrubs that bloom on the current season's growth should be pruned in the spring before growth starts. Prune clematis and garden roses to live wood. For Annabelle and PeeGee hydrangeas, remove old flower heads and thin stems to encourage larger flowers.
Generally the only reason to prune evergreens is to correct growth defects or control growth. Evergreens that grow continuously (i.e., junipers, white cedar or arborvitae, yews and hemlocks) can be pruned at any time.
To promote dense, compact pines, prune when candles are elongated to about three-fourths their length. Up to two-thirds of this growth can be removed. Do not prune pine or spruce after their early summer flush of growth (except to removed damaged branches).
·
Did you notice the story on the Big Pumpkin/Big Sunflower Contest in this newspaper a couple of weeks ago? If you are a gardener in Scott or Carver County, you are eligible to enter. Carver County judging will take place September 28 at Chaska Farm & Garden; Scott County judging at Bob's Country Garden Center. For more details, call the Carver or Scott County extension office.
If you're considering entering the competition, you might want to attend "pumpkin school." The World Pumpkin Confederation is offering a Giant Pumpkin Growers Clinic at 1 p.m., April 13, at Christ Lutheran Church in Byron, Minnesota (near Rochester). Topics will include:
- Where to buy world class seeds
- How to grow giant pumpkins
- Fertilizer requirements
- Video and panel of past winners on how they grow "the big ones."
The clinic is open to all and will include a drawing for seeds harvested from a 700-lb. pumpkin.
|
|
|
 |
| |
|
 |
| |
PUTTING DOWN ROOTS:
A Delightful Blend of
Gardening Wisdom, Wit
and Whimsy
$10 + $2 for shipping
by Cliff Johnson |
 |
 |
| |
|
