The Haircut

I went to get my hair cut and somehow the conversation gravitated towards landscaping and cleaning up the garden.  She has no idea what I do in regard to writing a blog or just being obsessed with gardening.

Panicum Ruby Ribbons

This is a smaller Panicum which will layer in front of my Lythrum Morden's Pink, especially when it is cut down.  I am very pleased to see this color early in the summer without it being an annual grass.  This is a grass that can be left up for the winter.

Penstemon Hamelin

This is a totally carefree grass and can be left up over the winter.

Miscanthus Udine

I have a difficult time cutting this down when it is so beautiful.  It does flop, so I may neaten it up a bit and leave it up.  I know it will be extra work in the spring!

Miscanthus Little Kitten

It is recommended that this grass not be cut down in the fall.

Panicum Northwind

This is the flagship grass in my garden, left up over the winter and pops back up after the snow melts.

Being a working mother of three she said she just doesn't have the time to cut down everything before the snow flies.  So, she is hiring a landscaping company to cut down all the perennials, trim all of the boxwood, shrubs and some limbs off the trees!

Boxwood Green Velvet

I trimmed my boxwood in July and you can see that the growth since then is a lighter green.  In my zone five area it is not recommended that you prune boxwood after August 1st.  I did last year and had a lot of burn on the newer growth. 

I almost jumped out of the chair saying don't trim the boxwood, evergreens or trees now.  Also, be careful which shrubs you prune now or you won't have flowers next spring.

Viburnum Carlesi Compactum

As you can see the buds are fully formed to bloom next spring.  Prune right after flowering.

PJM Rhododendron

The Rhodies all have their buds for bloom next spring.  They should be pruned right after flowering.

Azalea Karen

Prune after flowering in late spring, keeps leaves all winter

The Lilies should not be cut down until they yellow or the bulbs will not have enough stored food to bloom the following year.

I am sure my landscaper knows what to do!  This is a very common reaction, we assume that people who cut grass know what to do with everything on our property.

My neighbor has a landscaper that trims everything in late July. thus the Viburnum does not bloom the following spring, or the Amelanchier (which is cropped down to hedge size) or the Rhodies which are topped off.  This is not an unusual occurrence if you do not know the timeline of the various flowering shrubs.

Neighbor's Viburnum

Not a bud in sight

Amelanchier (Serviceberry)

Cut into a ball, no flowers this year, no berries

All spring flowering shrubs need to be pruned immediately after flowering, early summer flowering shrubs before the end of July and fall flowering shrubs in the spring.  Certain hydrangeas grow on old and new wood so it doesn't matter when you prune them, but some only grow on old wood. 

Forsythia Greenstem

Low growing, blooms in spring, prune right after flowering

Weigela Dark Horse

Blooms late spring, prune right after blooming

Ninebark Summer Wine

This is a summer blooming shrub and can be pruned and trimmed back until August 1st.  Beyond that you take a chance that there will not be any flowers the next year.

Limelight Hydrangea

This hydrangea grows on old or new wood, can be pruned in spring or fall, but why would I prune it now?  The flowers will slowly turn to a pleasing tan and stay on all winter.

Hydrangea Unique

Blooms on old and new wood, can be pruned in spring and fall, however the blooms do not age well past the rosy pink stage.

I am going to experiment with Endless Summer Hydrangeas this year and not cut them back at all along with my Starlight Hydrangeas, no cut back for either.  We will see if this makes any difference in regard to the amount of blooms.  I am also going to feed all of my acid loving plants before the end of the month (I read this on the Internet last year and it seemed to work with tons of blooms, except for Endless Summer because they are very nitrogen reactive).

Hydrangea Let's Dance Starlight

Certain plants benefit from being left standing for the winter, like Agastache, Centranthus and Lavender need to have the stems left up in the colder climates.

Aster Monte Casino in the middle will be transplanted into the raised bed on the south side where I pulled out Purple Dome Aster.  Monte Casino is a florist aster used in arrangements but it is also hardy in my area and if pinched back to keep it full is a beautiful plant and not attractive to rabbits.

I had great success with cutting down my Autumn Clematis in the fall because I don't want it sitting up on the wood pergola all winter with the snow and ice.  It bloomed just great this year not caring at all, in fact I believe most type 3's could be cut down in the fall if late enough with no problem.

Autumn Clematis

February is a recommended time of year to prune most tree limbs (in the colder zones) because the sap is not running.  The time of trimming is also dependent upon the species of tree.  Of course if a limb is dead or diseased it needs to be cut off.  Tree trimming is a year round occurence but winter or early spring is the ideal.  Check out your local university extension recommendations for specific zones.

I can't believe that a haircut prompted a blog on pruning!

Beginnings

I know, it looks like major damage, but I had to do it now or forget about it for another year.  This is my Rhus Aromatica that can grow three feet tall by eight feet wide, winding its way along a border.  I am not sure I would have planted this if not recommended by a garden designer.  It has had scale and takes a great deal of pruning throughout the season to keep it within bounds.  I should have known it was not a plant for my garden when I saw it at several local shopping centers.

Rhus Aromatica Gro Low

I have rejuvenated it by pruning out all of the sucker branches and bringing it down to about a foot above ground level.  The dormant oil for the scale has already been applied so I am hoping to salvage this border planting before I give up.

Rhus Aromatica Gro Low Pruned

It crawls and winds along the border.

Don't be afraid to rejuvenate or renew shrubbery, looks drastic but soon leafs out to become a better plant.  Rejuvenating is to remove everything down to four to six inches above ground, renewal is to take out the largest stems every two to three years to stimulate new growth.  I think I did something in between going down to about ten inches and removing a lot of the smaller branches.

I did purchase a product this year by Bayer that lists the ability to eradicate scale insects.  I will put this on in May when these insects emerge from their covering.  If I didn't get them with the dormant spray, hopefully this will do the trick.

I have also noticed scale on my Limelight Hydrangea, wondered why there were several eaten leaves last year, so I will dormant spray this also.

The first crocus, the only crocus, I gave up planting them several years ago when they were eaten as fast as I put them in the ground!

Pink Meidiland Rose has buds.

I have already spread my Espoma Organic Fertilizer 5-3-3.  Try to stay away from the high nitrogen fertilizers because of their tendency to produce more leaf growth than flowers.  The acid loving plants have also been fed with Espoma 4-3-4, going to cease using the high nitrogen Miracid and see if this makes a difference with the flowering ability of Endless Summer Hydrangea.

Early Sensation is a great first bloomer of all the daffodils.

Dicentra Spectablis peeking through

First year I have seen this color combo in a pansy, loved them as violas

Daylilies poking through

The hyacinths can't wait!

We have all been a bit down in these colder climates, and I think as gardeners we live for the anticipation of life and growth.  I feel better, it's beginning!

Visit Tootsie for Fertilizer Friday!

Cutting It Up In The Garden

I received a very generous gift certificate from my family some months ago to use at one of my favorite garden centers.  It was too late in the season to use it so every once in awhile I would look at it in my wallet and think soon, soon!

Well, the other day, I decided to do a little pre-season shopping.  I bought the large bag of Espoma Organic fertilizer, a general garden fertilizer that I broadcast throughout the beds each spring.  I also treated myself to some Felco pruning shears which I sure hope I don't lose in the garden.

I am ready to begin pruning the roses, looks like the rabbits have done this for me on some of them.  The Meidilands really grow tall with curved branches during the summer and need to be shaped or they would take over the pathway.  I made the cuts on a 45 degree angle facing outward from the center about 1/4" above a node, cut stems aways from the middle of the rose and thin out all of the spindly stems, leaving some strong canes.  Also, cut out all of the dead canes to the ground.

This is a new product that I found at Costco.  I have used Bayer for many years but this is the first year that their product has advertised its use against Japanese Beetles.  It is about double the price of their other systemic rose care but if it works it is worth it!  Right now I have one blooming season for my roses, June, and then the Japanese Beetles hit.

Pink Miediland Rose

Pink Meidiland Rose

The Knockouts and Rainbow Knockouts really become very bushy during the season but rebound quickly with a severe haircut.  You can leave them with minimal pruning because they are shrub roses, but on my property, they will quickly get out of bounds.  It is also helpful to open up the middle for air circulation and to let in light for more blooms.

Rainbow Knockout Rose

Rainbow Knockout Pruned

There are only two Rainbow Knockouts planted by the shed but they become very large and fill the space.

Knockout Rose

I can finally get to my Type III Clematis, cutting them about six inches above the soil.  Then comes the job of taking down all of the old growth wound tightly around the trellis.  Cut the vines in small sections and they come off very easily without pulling down the whole trellis.

Rouge Cardinal

Rouge Cardinal Clematis

I was able to remove the Christmas greens from the hayracks and underneath the greens I found a surprise!

These are the pansies I left underneath the greens in the fall.  They look great, but I have no idea if they will survive into the spring.  I covered them up with a few loose greens, so we'll see.

It's time to trim my Limelight and Unique Hydrangeas, leaving a three foot semi-circle frame around Limelight (gives support to the stems during the growing season) and 24" of stems on the Unique.

Limelight Hydrangea

Limelight

Cut down to about three feet in a semi-circle with all inner thin and dead branches cut out.

Limelight Hydrangea

It produces a very full rounded shape when trimmed in this manner.

Unique Hydrangea

I had cut this down in the fall, which doesn't matter because it blooms on new wood, but I will be cutting out those thin branches.

Unique Hydrangea

Even with cutting down to about two feet it grows to about seven feet by July.

This is only the beginning, lots more trimming to do!

Join Tootsie for Fertilizer Friday.

Pruning Time For Beautiful Flowers

Pruning trees, shrubs and clematis is a garden art form.  We worry so much about taking so much off that the plant will look unsightly. Unfortunately, the opposite is true - not enough pruning promotes an unhappy plant.

I see so many beautiful specimens around me that have been pruned at the wrong time sans blooms the following year, or not pruned at all with a few paltry blooms at the top of the shrub.

As soon as your lilac, magnolia, viburnum, forsythia, bridal wreath have bloomed in the spring, prune, shaping the top of the shrub and removing one third of the old growth each year to the bottom of the shrub.  This has to be done pretty quickly as the shrubs begin to set flowers for the following year.  One year, I waited too long to prune the Magnolia which hung over the walkway and I had very few flowers the following spring.  I have already trimmed back my Viburnum Carlesi.  Hydrangeas have pruning requirements also, some growing on old and new wood, some growing only on old wood.  I happen to have the types that I can cut down quite a bit each year and get beautiful new blooms the following summer and late summer. 

My Hydrangeas are Endless Summer, Unique and Limelight.  I shape my Limelight in a semi-circle when I prune and it is a gorgeous specimen come August.  Unique., I cut down to about two feet and it is spectacular in the late summer.  With Endless Summer I wait to see how much growth is coming and then trim whatever is not viable.

Don't be afraid to heavily prune damaged or overgrown flowering trees.  My daughter's Crabapple is over fifty years old and we pruned it heavily last year because it had more suckers than anything else.  I pruned my Pagoda Dogwood because it had been so heavily damaged by the Cicadas and grew in all different directions.  Both trees have had the best blooms ever!

I think I have finally figured out my Little Henry's Garnet (Sweetspire)- tons of little beginning flowers this year.  In one of my previous posts I noted that I had to bring out the big guns for this shrub and feed it a systemic.  I noticed an improvement almost instantly.  I also cut it down to about 12" high.  I will do the same this year after it blooms and see if this is the answer to a very finicky shrub for the six plus years that I have tried to grow it.

Clematis, we all learn the hard way with this lovely plant, meaning if you cut it down in the spring and it is not a type 3, you will get very few blooms or they will be very small.  I went through this many years paying no attention to the different types.  Guess what, type 3 is easy, but some beautiful blooms are passed up if we don't also try the type 1 and type 2.  It is a challenge remembering which is which.  One final note, you have to fertilize if you want maximum bloom, acid based for Hydrangeas and other acid loving shrubs, general fertilizer for others, equal numbers if possible 5-5-5 or 10-10-10, not too high in nitrogen or it will again cut down on the blooms