The Brussels Post, 1979-05-07, Page 15Choosing the right bud.
Cutting off a terminal bud
When a terminal bud is cut, the closest lateral bud
becomes the new terminal bud. Pruning an outside
bud will produce an outside branch.
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HOME & GARDEN IMPROVEMENT, WEEK OF MAY, 7, 19,9 111
When and where to prune
Two basic questions about
pruning that some gardeners
find difficult to answer are
when and where,
To answer the question of
when to prune you need to
know two things: (1) When
the plant flowers. (2) On
which kind of growth it
flowers—shoots from the
current season; wood from
the previous year, or wood
twchor more years old.
Shoots from current season
Prune all plants that bloom
on new shoots before the
plants bloom.
Roses are an example,
Most rose flowers are initi-
ated on shoots grown during
the current year.
Pruning them in the spring
before they begin to bloom
will encourage new growth
and more roses,
Wood from the previous year
Many plants, such as for-
sythia, bloom on year-old
wood,
This type of plant should
be pruned after flowering. If
you were to prune year-old
wood in spring, you would
prune away flowering wood.
And if you cut away all of
'ast year's wood, there would
ae no flowers at all this year.
Wood two or more years old
You don't have to be as
selective when pruning
plants and trees in this cate-
gory.
For example, on an apple
tree, which flowers on wood
several years old, you merely
cut to shorten the fruit bear-
ing branches, and thus
strengthen them.
If you remember when a
plant flowers, and on what
kind of wood, you will al-
ways know when to prune it,
according to Ortho's book,
"All About Pruning."
Now, where do you cut the
plant when pruning it?
Before the leaves, and new
stems appear, they exist in
small swellings on the stems
and branches. These swell-
ings are called "buds."
Look closely at the buds
and you will see that there are
three main kinds—terminal,
lateral and flower.
A terminal bud grows at
the tip of the shoot.
A lateral bud appears on
the side of the shoot.
Flower buds are shorter,
blunter and fatter than leaf-
producing, or vegetative
buds. They appear on spurs
on fruit trees and can be in
either a terminal or lateral
position.
The important thing to re-
member is that when you
prune, always cut just above
a bud, You can understand
the reason for this if you stop
and consider that the termi-
nal bud grows most strongly.
Therefore, when you cut
off a terminal bud just above
a lateral bud, the lateral bud
is now at the tip of the stem
and inherits all this strength
When you choose a lateral ,
bud to place your cut, select
one that is pointed outward
so that the new branch will
grow out from the trunk
rather than criss-crossing
with other branches inside
the foliage,
Cutting above an
outward-pointing lateral bud
will also serve to open up the
plant for light, air and orderly
growth—all of which are im-
portant goals in pruning,
As you can see, the, rules of
when and where to prune are
simple enough.
Moving day
Getting plants
home
EVERY WEEKEND IS VACATION TIME
IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD
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Browsing through your
local nursery, you'll proba-
bly discover the special
plants you can't live without.
Well, don't. Impulse buys can
lead to years of pleasure.
To make sure your new
plant remains in the same
beautiful condition which at-
tracted you, just follow a few
basic guidelines when you
move it to its new home,
Transplanting should take
place as soon as possible so
that plants don't dry out,
If you must wait, be
sure to water well before re-
moving plants from nursery'
containers, so that the root
ball is not shattered in the
process.
Never pull plants
Never pull your plants
from their containers. If a new
arrival comes in a can, pot or
tub with sloping sides, the
root ball can be removed by
holding the container upside
down and tapping it Against a
ledge. Just make sure to sup-
port the root ball with the
plant stem between your fin-
gers so that it remains intact.
If the plant of your choice
comes in a straight-sided
container, your best bet is to
have it cut loose at the nurs- ery,
Some nursery plants come
in bio-degradable containers
like peat pots and Jiffy-7's,
which are made to be in-
serted directly into the soil..
To prepare peat pot varieties
for planting, simply punch
holes in the bottom of the
"pot" and peel away the
upper exposed container
edges; then, insert below the
soil line.
If your plant selections
come in cell packs or market
packs-2 to 12 plants in a flat
oblong container—remove
them by squeezing the bot-
tom of the container to force
the root ball above the lip.
Nutritional program
Once you've finished re-
potting, you should start
plants on a regular nutritional
program. Your local garden,
center has a selection of
fertilizers Made to give plants
a balanced diet of nitrogen,
phosphates, and irtassiun ,
With these easy steps of
plant care, your nursery
`finds" will become very
much at home in their new
home, providing, you with a
lush indoor garden all year
long.
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