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The Garden Plot for October 19, 2007
3:55 PM - 4:00 PM
[Program Website]
Today's Highlight: “Is it Time to Prune?”
Leaves are dropping and you are starting to notice all the branches you intended to prune last spring, but never did. If you’re feeling the urge to prune, resist! Don’t do it now! Some plants really should be pruned ONLY in the spring.
Raspberries are a good example. Raspberry canes break out of dormancy if we get even a few days of warm, winter weather. Those Chinooks that we love can soften the tips of raspberry canes, making them more vulnerable to cold injury. The result: dead cane tips next spring. So, do not do anything now to delay your raspberry plants’ progress towards dormancy. Wait until spring to shorten tall canes, or thin out crowded plants. Of course, you can remove the canes that fruited this year on June-bearing raspberry cultivars. These canes are dead. Cut them as close to the ground as possible. If you have everbearing raspberry cultivars (that produce fruit in the fall), remove only the top part of the canes; the part that just fruited.
Fruit trees should be pruned in early spring, just as buds begin to swell. You can remove diseased or dead branches when all the leaves have dropped this fall. However, research indicates that fruit trees with canker disease heal best when pruned in the spring. Like us, they heal better when growing actively, rather than fading into fall.
Evergreen shrubs and trees should be pruned after the coldest winter weather is past, but before warmer temperatures (above 50 F) send plants their “wake-up” call. Spring is the best time to tip back new shoots on Mugho pines so they won’t get leggy. It’s also the best time to thin out branches on thick Colorado Spruce. Dense spruce are more vulnerable to wind damage. Wait for spring to shape junipers, arborvitae, and cedars.
It’s best to prune shade trees in late winter, but they can be trimmed in the fall once you’re sure they’re dormant. How do you know? When 100% of the leaves have fallen, it’s a safe bet they are dormant. Some shade trees (such as Birch and Maple) are “bleeders”. They secrete sap when pruned during their peak growth period: this is usually just as buds turn green. So prune sap-secreters very early in the spring, or very late in the fall.
Pruning flowering shrubs is a little bit tricky. Prune spring-flowering shrubs AFTER they flower next spring. If you prune spring-flowering shrubs now, or in early spring, you may sacrifice all or most of next spring’s bloom. Spring-flowing shrubs include Forsythia, Lilac, and spring-blooming varieties of Spirea. Other flowering shrubs can be pruned in early spring, after buds have begun to swell, but before buds turn green. Cotoneaster, Caragana, Currants and Dogwood can be pruned in early spring.
For more information on the right time to prune particular plants, call your local Extension agent.
Helen Atthowe's new short program of gardening tips
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