Hello, friends!
I’ve received a lot of questions from readers over the years, and sometimes their problems are out of their hands. Things like a too-dry (or too-wet) spring, too-hot summer and late frost aren’t things we mere mortals can control.
But there also are plenty of times when our problems are of our own doing. Seemingly simple things like mulching incorrectly, fertilizing at the wrong time or without consideration of the plant’s needs, watering improperly or planting the wrong plant in the wrong spot can lead to lackluster results or even kill your plants.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll explore what those are and how to avoid them. Today, let’s talk a bit about pruning.
Pruning at the wrong time
Let me just get this out of the way upfront: Now is not the time to prune your trees and shrubs. Unless you’re cutting away a broken or dead branch, put your pruners and saws away.
Pruning stimulates new growth, which requires sufficient time to mature. Doing so when there isn’t enough time for that tender, new growth to fortify before frost means it will likely be destroyed. In addition, the plant will become vulnerable to rot and disease.
Deciduous trees and shrubs (including fruit trees) should be pruned in late winter or early spring, just before they emerge from dormancy. February and March are ideal.
Spring-bloomers, however, should wait until immediately after blooming. Pruning plants like Rhododendrons in late winter would remove their buds, which formed after last year’s bloom. The window is small, though, because you’ve got to get in there after the flowers fade but before those buds start growing.
Hydrangeas are in a category of their own. Actually, they’re in four categories. Prune any of them at the wrong time and you’ll find yourself wondering where all the flowers went.
Hydrangea arborescens grandiflora: Cut to the ground in late winter/ early spring.
Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora (Peegee): Remove spent flowers and thin or cut back last year's growth in late winter/ early spring.
Hydrangea quercifolia (oakleaf hydrangea): Remove dead wood at the base of the plant in early spring.
Hydrangea anomala petiolaris (climbing hydrangea): Unruly vines can be shortened in summer. Otherwise, pruning is seldom necessary.
Overzealous pruning
This applies to trees as well as tender plants.
Indeterminate tomatoes, for instance, benefit from careful pruning to expose fruit to sunlight, keep plants from getting unruly and avoid mold, mildew and fungal diseases, which thrive when plants get crowded. But over-pruning robs them of shade, some of which is necessary to protect growing fruit from sunburn.
Trees and shrubs should be pruned to retain a pleasant shape and maintain their integrity. But we shouldn’t prune in an attempt to keep a large tree small. It just doesn’t work that way, and your tree will become stressed. Always consider the mature size of a plant or tree before deciding where to place it.
We’ll dive more deeply into pruning, including proper techniques, in February.
📬Question of the week
Hi, Jessica: I purchased a Hydrangea topiary and have it in a pot on my porch, but I’m not sure how to overwinter it. I don’t want to plant it in my garden. Do you think I can store it in my unheated garage near a window? Maybe wrap the pot with a blanket and water it occasionally? — Evelyn Bass
Dear Evelyn: Yes, you can store your potted hydrangea in an unheated garage, but I can’t guarantee it will survive.
For the best odds, ensure it is planted in an all-weather (plastic, etc.) pot. Terracotta planters tend to crack over winter. If it’s in a decorative planter that isn’t suited for outdoor winter use, replant it into one that is. You can always slip that pot into a larger, prettier one over the summer, if you want.
Place the pot on top of a board to keep it off the hard, cold, presumably concrete floor. Then add a thick layer of mulch over the soil and wrap the pot well in a blanket, as you suggested (a foam packing blanket would be ideal), and secure it well. Depending on its size, you could also place it in a large bucket and fill the area between the two containers with packing peanuts, leaves or another insulating material.
Water the plant occasionally and lightly over winter, but only when the soil is not frozen.
You might get better results burying the pot up to the soil line in the garden, in a spot protected from wind, and then covering it with mulch or shredded leaves. The ground is a wonderful insulator.
PXFUEL photo
💡If you do one thing this week…
Prune dead, weak, cracked or diseased tree branches to prevent injury to people or damage to property when winds whip up during winter storms, threatening to rip them off and send them hurling to who-knows-where.
👏Sunday shoutout
Tom McCarthy of Levittown is a proud plantsman who enjoys shooting and sharing photos of his darling dahlias, cherished chrysanthemums and other beloved blooms.
And over at the McCarthy house, gardening is a family affair. Wife, Christine, daughter, Shannon, 12, and son, Michael, 10, “all plant together when we garden. The kids, my wife and I bury the [dahlia] bulbs,” then cut flowers to fill vases in the house, Tom said. “We love it.”
Photos by Tom McCarthy
🌱📅Have you ordered your 2021 gardening calendar yet?
This is not an ordinary calendar. It’s actually a gardening and plant-care guidebook in calendar’s clothing. Every daily box contains a little nudge from me to you: a timely chore or tip to keep your garden on track all year long.
📧Send me your feedback!
I welcome your comments and suggestions, so please send them along — as well as any topics you’d like to see covered and questions you’d like answered in the Q&A section.
If you’re sending photos of your garden, please include your full name and the name of anyone depicted, your hometown, details about your plant or garden, the name of the person who took the photo, and a sentence granting permission for its use in this newsletter and archives.