🏵️Garden pruning guide: Part 2
Here's how -- and when -- to prune spring bloomers to enhance flowering and improve shape, health and vigor.
👉If you like the insights, tips and advice in this newsletter, share it with a gardening friend.
Hello, friends!
Last week I wrote about pruning trees and shrubs and promised details this week about when and how to prune spring bloomers and some other plants, which we’ll dive into below. I’ve decided it would be best to postpone my primer on hydrangeas because, being such a source of confusion for many, they deserve their own space. (I’ll go over the differences between species, how to care for and prune each type and how to recognize which you have next week.)
With the exception of butterfly bush, none of the following plants (or hydrangeas, for that matter) should be pruned now, so don’t get secateur-happy while you’re out there taking care of the trees and shrubs I wrote about last week. For now, just keep the when and how details handy so that you’ll be ready when the time comes.
Butterfly bush (Buddleia) should never be pruned in fall, aside from removing damaged or broken branches. Cut it nearly to the ground every year in late winter or early spring. Don't worry; it'll grow back quickly.
For lilacs and other spring bloomers, wait until after flowers fall so as not to remove buds and spoil the season's show.
Forsythia, too, should be pruned every year right after flowering.
Spirea and Weigela should be pruned every two to three years.
Deadhead rhododendrons and mountain laurels only if they aren't full enough, and do it immediately after flowering. Waiting even a week will defeat the purpose, and the plants will remain leggy.
📬 Ask Jessica
Last week, I invited you to play a game of Name That Weed with me to identify reader JoAnn Kukenis’ invasive weed, which she said was "sprouting up all over my yard, in the lawn and flower beds.” Kukenis said she’s “curious as to what they are called and asked for “a plan for destruction,” adding that she “tried Roundup over the summer,” to no avail.
I didn’t initially recognize the weed, but Kukenis jogged my memory when she reminded me that I’d written about it in the past in my syndicated Newsday gardening column. So, I thought would be fun to ask if anyone else recognized it.
From “sweet William,” not a bad guess by Mike Delahanty, to “I don’t know but I’m glad I don’t have it,” by Olivia, responses ran the gamut. Only one, however, nailed it: “I believe that's a photo of a Weed Orchid.” a reader identified only as Gostic wrote. “I've been battling them in my lawn in Wading River, NY, for three years now. The root system is remarkable, and I have been told if you leave part of the root behind, the plant will continue to grow and prosper. The roots can go very deep, and digging deep holes in my lawn to get to the roots and then patching the area back up again is getting old,” Gostic said.
That, my friends, is the voice of experience.
Helleborine epipactus, or wild orchid, is indeed an invasive, difficult-to-control weed that actually was introduced intentionally from Europe, with its first New York sighting reported in 1879. It soon became apparent, however, that the pretty landscape plant takes off like a runaway train on this side of the pond via an underground rhizome network, which sends up several plants from each root as it grows and spreads beneath the soil. Unfortunately, control is, indeed, quite difficult, as leaving behind even a small portion of rhizome will result in more proliferation. In addition, the plant doesn’t respond well to herbicides such as glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, as Kukenis reports.
There are only two things you can do in an attempt to keep this orchid under control: First, dig deeply to remove every last bit of root you can find, taking into account that the fleshy rhizomes can extend more than 4 inches into the soil, and dig again whenever new plants surface. Second, never allow the plants to go to seed; they will germinate and sprout new plants two years later. Good luck!
💡 If you do one thing this week…
Take inventory of your seed-starting supplies and replace grow-light bulbs, jiffy pods, seeds — or whatever you find you need — now so that you’ll be ready to go when it’s time (here are some of my go-to supplies). If you had a copy of my 2021 Day-by-Day Gardening Calendar, you’d know exactly what to do every day this week — and month, and year. Take advantage of the February sale and score an autographed copy here.
👏 Sunday shoutout
“I thought it would be a good time to share our blooming witch hazel bush, “Diana,” writes reader Mike Delehanty. A good time, indeed!
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📧 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 Ask Jessica section.
I cut my butterfly bush like you instructed at the right time of year and it died.
Jessica,
You say to "prune spirea every two to three years" - do I prune down to the ground? 1/3?
Thanks for any help....... Laurie Petroske