Topping Trees? Stop!

Here is a brief write up on the evils of topping trees:

http://www.ecobeneficial.com/ask_ecobeneficial/should-i-top-my-tree-to-reduce-its-size/

I will try to post a photo soon of this terrible practice....

Pruning

Poor tree!

This poor tree was damaged in a bad storm, and 4 limbs needed to be removed.  Three were properly removed, but you see the one near the top of the photo, with the notch but out of the bottom?  It may be that this was the way that the storm damage occurred, but it also the kind of thing that can happen when you fail to make an undercut when you take down a limb.  If you do not make an undercut, you can even sometimes see a long, vertical strip of bark that tears off when the limb succumbs to gravity.  The notch taken out on the top cut may create an entry point for disease or pests, or the tree may seal it over and be ok.  So, if a storm does this, do the best you can.  But, if you are pruning, make an undercut to reduce the possibility of further damage!

NEVER prune in the fall!

A great explanation of why you should never prune trees and shrub in the fall.  Put those pruners away until winter!

http://www.rodalenews.com/fall-pruning?cid=social_20141013_33468537

Muscadine and Grape Pruning

We had a little nice weather this past week, so I thought it was a good time to do a chore I had been neglecting, pruning the muscadine grapes.  All grapes can stand some significant pruning, and native grapes even more so.  My muscadines had really overgrown the fence and were reaching out for new territory!  One day my neighbor came over- he had parked his truck for a few days next to the fence and the muscadines had twined around his roof rack!

The plants are dormant now and need to be pruned before their sap begins to run in the spring.  As you can see by the photo, the background is well-pruned and the foreground remains to be done.  If you wait too long to prune your grapes, they might just exude so much sap that the vine is damaged.  How do grapes respond to dormant pruning?  Very well: muscadines at least, respond with vigorous growth.  There might be fewer grapes (I have far too many, so that would be good), but they should be larger.

One more thing: Happy Holidays from the Central VA Organic Gardener!

Wednesday Lagnaippe: Post- Apple Tree Pruning or The Green Monster

Fruit trees need yearly, extensive pruning, much more pruning than other types of trees.  If you fail to do this pruning, your tree quickly gets out of hand.  This past winter I did some pretty extensive pruning on my apple, peach and pear trees.  They really needed it.  Branches had shot up so high, it was difficult to impossible to harvest some of the fruit.  I also could not spray these hard to reach branches with kaolin clay protectant and organic fungicides, so the fruit above rotted and spread disease down to lower branches.

How to fruit trees respond to extensive pruning? Exuberantly!  The two photos above are of my apple tree:  it almost looks like the branches and main trunk are covered with green fur, the new sprouts are so dense.  So, gotta' get back up on the ladder and remove these new, non-productive, growths.  And, if you did your fruit tree pruning last winter, you do too!

Happy gardening!

Pruning Window

The window for tree pruning is rapidly closing.  This weekend my husband and I completed pruning on our fruit trees (3 peaches, 1 enormous apple, 2 pears and 3 huge figs).  Fruit trees can take a lot more pruning than other trees and should be pruned fairly "hard" each season.  The general rules are this: first, remove suckers and waterspouts.  Suckers are straight stems coming up from the base of a tree and waterspouts are (non-productive) stems coming up from branches, usually where previous pruning has occurred.  Next, prune off damaged or dead branches and crossing branches.  Then, of what is left, prune the tree to meet these objectives:
1. Open up the interior of the tree to allow in air and sunlight (this reduces the spread of disease);
2. Remove branches that are too high for you to easily pick from;
3. Remove branches that interfere with getting to other branches, again for ease of harvesting and:
4. Remove branches to keep the tree size in check.
Once the tree breaks dormancy (early March for us for fruit trees, except for figs), it is considered to be too late for major pruning, though minor pruning can still be done at this time.
Next up for us is to spray the trees with dormant oil (I am a little late on this too) and liquid copper on the pears to control fire blight. 

We have some ornamental trees to prune too, but some birds will nesting soon and that will close the ornamental pruning window!

Happy gardening!
P.S. Be  kind to your crape myrtles and don't hack them (see my entries on crape myrtle)!  Just give them a light shearing!

Fruit Trees

Though rewarding, fruit trees can be a lot of work, especially for the organic gardener. If you have, or want, apple, pear, peach, plum, or cherry trees, know that they have to be pruned every year in order to be productive, and to keep them in bounds for applications of organic sprays and for ease of picking. If you are unable or unwilling to do this (or pay someone to do it), grow easier fruits, of which there are many: strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries and currants (where allowed), blueberries and even figs (which though fruit trees, do not exactly fit the prune-every-year rule). After pruning, fruit trees need applications of dormant/horticultural oil and various organic pesticides and fungicides. Above is a photo of me (January, 2012) in the apple tree we inherited (unpruned) when we moved in. I have since added three peach trees and two pears (among many other plants). Though my husband does the major work with my assistance, I did get up in the tree this year to prune (and did not fall out of it, like I did two years ago-ouch!). We took off a bunch of water spouts (new, totally vertical growth that will be unproductive) and a few large limbs we could not easily reach to pick fruit. I had done the major pruning earlier on the much smaller pear trees and the peach trees remain to be pruned severely and soon. We also do need to prune the figs- they respond well to pruning and are finally getting too tall to easily pick.

If you don't have fruit trees and are considering getting some, think about the work load. It can be fun, but it is work. And, if you do have fruit trees, get out there and do that annual pruning! To motivate yourself, remember the peach, fig, cherry and plum preserves, pies, fresh and dried fruit and the like!

Happy gardening!

Love it or Hate It? (Number 3): Invite to the Forsythia Ball?

Love It or Hate It? The Forsythia Ball



I found many examples of this in a short walk around the corner today- a example of the tidily, geometrically pruned shrub, in this case, forsythias (I found many more examples of highly pruned versions versus the natural form). What do you think: love it or hate it?


My response? I feel sorry for the poor plant. The true beauty of these early spring flowering shrubs is when they are left alone, with minor pruning to reinvigorate the plant (a few stems removed at ground level, dead or broken branches removed) so that the lovely arching branches form, covered with flowers (no matter how brief the bloom time, the forsythia is a welcome early spring flower). Here is an example that is a bit better, in a better setting- the forsythia is planted somewhere it will not get in the way, and the branches allowed to arch over a fence:


I completely understand why a homeowner would severely prune a shrub. You buy a plant that is little more than a stick with roots in a pot and have difficulty imagining its final size. I have done this with a few passalong plants, for example bridal wreathe spirea. Forsythia can grow to be 10 feet tall and very wide around, and it is hard to keep it in a tightly constrained area and have it still look good- this is why people resort to pruning it into balls, boxes or rectangles. The moral- gardener, know thy plants! Do some research, and learn what the final size of a plant will be before you plant it. And don't plant it if you don't have the right site requirements for it- look for another, more suitable plant instead. You may end up doing what I have had to do in the past- fully removing a plant that is in the wrong space, which is a waste of time, money and energy! [Side note: in a tiny, postage stamp garden, it may work to severely prune some shrubs-I'll see if I can find examples this next week]
Happy gardening!

Gardening versus parenting advice

How gardening advice is like parenting advice

I am a voracious reader and never met a problem or circumstance that could not be enhanced by a book, or so I thought. When I was pregnant, I got my hands on all kinds of parenting and child-rearing books and read and read... The end result is that I was completely baffled by what I read (and, eventually, amused by the whole idea of other people telling me how to reproduce and raise my kid!). There was so much contradictory advice out there! Sleep with your baby, never sleep with your baby…use corporal punishment, never use it…never let your baby cry itself to sleep versus let your baby cry it out…introduce solids early to get them to sleep, exclusively breast feed for the first six months, formula is terrible, it is OK to supplement with formula! ARGH!

In some regards, though to a lesser extent, gardening advice shares this quality. For years I have read about the great benefits of wood chip mulch- it looks nice, keeps the weeds down, keeps moisture in the soil, eventually aid soils fertility when it breaks down. Now I read (and hear on garden podcasts) that wood chip mulch is positively evil- it harbors mold spores, diverts water from the soil, and ties up soil nitrogen when it breaks down. Did I mention voles love to tunnel under it? But I like wood chips! What to do? Compromise. I mulch walking paths with wood chips and mulch flower, fruit, and of course, veggie beds with compost or other organic matter (until I read this is wrong!).

Another bit of questionable advice: manure is a great soil amendment, and heats up your compost pile, encouraging decomposition and increasing fertility. What do I read now? Manure should be used as a specialty fertilizer, it can unbalance the soil (too much phosphorous I think), can harbor diseases and weeds seeds and, if the farm animal owner uses a certain type of weed killer (cyopralid and aminiopryalid sold as Forefront, Reclaim, Stinger, Hornet, Transline, Confront, Lontrel, Curtail and Millenium Ultra) in grazing fields or buys hay contaminated with it, the manure from horses who eat that hay or grass can kill your garden (by preventing seeds from sprouting for years, even killing mature plants). I am avoiding manure for now, until I can either find some from organically-raised animals or tested manure. Back to regular old compost!

Pruning? I have always read to prune only when a tree is dormant, but I have recently heard from a respected source “the best time to prune is when you have the time and the tools” (Don Schmidt on “The Dean of Green” podcast). I still would highly advise against late summer or fall pruning, as it can stimulate new growth which will just get killed by winter cold in our temperate climate, thereby weakening the tree or shrub.

Last one: it is OK to keep the burlap on the root ball of a balled-n-burlapped tree or shrub. It was thought that the burlap will help keep that all important root ball together and will eventually decompose. New advice? Cut away and remove that burlap, along with any twine or wires you can. Leaving these materials on will only encourage the tree roots to continue to grow in a circular pattern, eventually choking the roots (also more recent advice- don’t amend the soil in a planting hole for a tree or shrub- it just encourages the roots to stay and in that nice, amended environment and choke).

So, if you hear of any more contradictions in garden advice (even from me!) Let me know!

Happy Gardening!

Tree Pruning 2

Tree Pruning 2

[photo: Ain't is pretty? Flowers on my "Moonglow" pear].

I am not an excellent pruner, especially of my fruit trees. But I do know the basics. Here are some rules to follow for pruning fruit or other trees:

1. Unless you inherited a neglected orchard, do not remove more than one-third of the branches at a time. If you inherited an orchard, consult an orchard arborist!

2. Make sure your tools are sharp and in good working order. It is frustrating to begin a big pruning job and a tool does not work. I like a folding hand saw, pruning shears (secateurs), long handled pruners and a large hand saw. I am not comfortable with power equipment and I think chain saws encourage you to cut, baby, cut and over do it! (I once read that the best advice to give someone contemplating pruning a tree is to not let your husband or other male loose on it with a chain saw!) And made sure the tool fits the cut- hand-held pruning shears will not cut a half-inch diameter branch. You will damage the branch, the tool and/or your hand!

3. Make a cut from below (in an upward direction) first, then cut downward from above. This prevents the bark from pulling off in a long strip when the limb meets gravity (a sign of poor pruning is when you get a lot of these peeled areas at the site of a cut. Some accidental peeling is unavoidable, a lot is a sign of carelessness).

4. Recently I read advice to not paint the cut limb- it traps germs against the wound. Allow the wound to heal in fresh, cold air.

5. Cut off unproductive “water spouts,” that is, the long, straight, vertical branches that often form where you pruned previously. They are ugly and, in the case of fruit trees, cannot support fruit.

6. Cut off any crossed limbs, or, in young trees, you can use spreaders (see last entry) to move them around.

7. Don’t “top” trees (cut off all the branches on a mature tree to try to make it smaller) unless you want to kill it!

8. Lastly, if you cannot reach the fruit on a limb, cut it off!

Happy gardening!

Crape-A-Cide photo update

Photo above: severe, knobby clubbing from severe, repeated pruning. All of these photos were taken in my neighborhood on my regular walk. I found so many examples in addition to these few.

Lightly pruned crape, nice form, though badly sited (note the utility pole).

A recently severely pruned crape myrtle. Looks awful. A nightmare. Can't imagine it will look all that much better with a puff of leaves and blooms atop. And can't imagine it will thrive and live long.

Photo above: a severely pruned crape myrtle showing clubbing of the branches and undesirable umbrella form. This was part of a line of 4 or 5 similarly damaged trees.

Crape-A-Cide

Crape-a-cide! AKA “Crape Murder.”

(Caption: photo of crape myrtle used by permission with attribution, copyright James G. Howes, July, 24, 2007).

A heinous crime exists in southern gardens, from Virginia to Florida. This crime against creation maims, destroys harmony and, sadly, and eventually, kills. It is too horrible to imagine, and involves butchering, slashing and devastation. It is called crape-a-cide.

What? Never heard of this crime? Neither has the Department of Justice. If you have a crape (also spelled crepe) myrtle, you may have done it, thoughtlessly and needlessly. You know all those garden books and wiser-than-thou neighbors who tell you to mercilessly chop the branches off your crape myrtle tree to promote bloom? Well, I am among a growing number of gardeners who think this is a BAD IDEA, and let me tell you why.

First off, it may seem that severely pruning your crape myrtle back in the winter does promote a flush of bloom in summer. It is true, blooms will be larger, perhaps not more numerous, but there is a cost. Repeated pruning like this does several things:

It ruins the beautiful, natural form of the tree. The tree, instead of growing into its full beauty of form becomes twisted, stunted and develops clubbed ends on the limbs. For the large portion of the year that the tree is bare of leaves and flowers, this is an ungainly and unpleasant sight. The “bone structure” of any tree is important. Also, when in bloom, the severely pruned tree makes an unfortunate umbrella or a lollypop shape.
Many crape myrtles have beautiful bark, another point for fall and winter interest. Severely pruned trees do not develop this bark, or not as well.
When you severely prune any tree, you weaken it. Severe pruning kills off roots, making the tree more vulnerable to drought and high winds. Repeated annual, severe pruning can shorten the life of the tree.

What to do? You can cut off the little seed heads that form every year and do a light shearing. Like all trees, never prune off more than one-third of the branches at a time and do not do this every year. Wait until the tree is fully dormant to prune, say, in January. And, when you make the cut, make sure it is a small cut on the underside of the branch, then cut downwards from the top. This prevents the branch from tearing a long strip of bark onto the tree below the cut. I wince when I see this!!! Such a jagged tear can invite insects and disease and bark death. Some people slap on a little latex paint on newly cut braches, this is up to you. Certainly cut off any suckers forming from the bottom and any crossed or split branches.

Save the Crapes!

Happy gardening!

Gardening in the Winter Doldrums

Gardening in the Winter Doldrums

OK, OK, so there just isn’t as much to do in the garden in the winter, but here are some tasks and ideas:

Pruning: January is a great time to prune trees and shrubs, esp. fruit trees. The trees and shrubs are dormant, so they won’t bleed sap and won’t send out new growth to be killed of by the cold. This Saturday, Jan 10th, we pruned the peach trees, pear trees, figs and our apple tree. I also removed the branch spreaders from the pear trees to give them some breathing room and to make sure I did not strangle the branches. I will put new, roomier, spreaders on in a month.

Transplanting: if a small tree or shrub is in the wrong place, this is the time of year to move it, as long as the ground is not frozen. You can plant your balled and burlapped Christmas tree now, too.

Bed prep: to avoid that rush in early spring to get beds ready, get them ready early. As long as the ground isn’t frozen (which is a lot of the time here in central VA) you can dig, or do the easy bed prep method I posted earlier. Mulch them with leaves or pine straw to protect your hard work and to protect any amendments you put in from being washed away by heavy rains. Again, this weekend Jan. 10th I did some digging in a new veggie bed, adding compost, pine straw, and coffee grounds from a coffee shop.

Turn that compost heap: yes, it probably has cooled down and is not breaking down much, but you might be able to get a little more decomposition going, esp. if you water it with fish emulsion solution. Did that today too, and found a huge number of happy earthworms chomping away!

Plan: plan out your garden beds. Figure out your rotation so you don’t plant veggies from the same family in the same place year after year. Plan new flower and fruit beds too.

Indoors: start up some paperwhite narcissus or amaryllis bulbs, esp. ones you get on sale after the holidays (check these bargains for dried and desiccated bulbs before you buy-sitting in an overheated garden center for a few months is not good for bulbs, but I have found some bargains this way). These are very easy to start, just place the paperwhites on a bed of gravel and water in a saucer or bowl; bury amaryllis about 2/3 the way in soil. Water and watch-they are a real pleasure.

Seed starting- see that entry for full details. Some seeds take a long time to start, so read the seed packets and start them accordingly.

Rake up stray leaves, pine straw, general detritus. Compost it.

Wash out flower pots or seedling flats that you used last season.
Sharpen your garden hoe and spade. Oil it afterwards.

Read seed and nursery catalogs and dream!

Happy winter gardening!