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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1979-05-10, Page 47TWO basic questions about pruning that some gardeners find ,difficult to answer are when and where. To answer the question or when to prune you need to know two things;, (f) When the; plant flowers. (2) On, which kind'. of growth it flowers ---shoots from the current season, wood from the previous year. or wood two or more years Old, Shoots from Current season Prune all plants that bloom: on new shoots before the plants bloom, Roses are art: example. Most rose flowers are ated on shoots grown diming 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. k t�This type of plant should e pruned after flowering. If you were to..prune year-old wood: in spring, you would Choosing thee, right . bud Cutting off a terminal ; bu+ When a terminal bud is cut, the closest lateral bud becomes the newierminal bud. Pruningan outside bud will produce` an outside branch. Moving day. Getting plants homy ,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 shatteredin 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 conies in a straight -sided container, vour best bet is to have, it cut loosetit 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 potvarieties ' 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 cefl packs or market packs -2 to 12plants 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 kcal garden, Center has a, selection'. of fertilizers made to give plants a balanced diet of nitrogen, phosphates, and potassium.` 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. prune -away flowering wood. And if you cut away all of art year's wood. there would ae; no bowers at all this year. Wood, two; or, more yeare;old' You don't have to. be .as selective when pruning plants and trees lit 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. Lf you remember when a HOME. ,& GARDEN IMPRcVEMENT Vl.EEK aP' MAY. 1 ' ere t 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." r Now, where do you cut the plant when pruning airy, 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 rune the side of the shoot. Plower 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 later¢! 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 alt this strength, When you choose a lateral; bud to place your cut, select one that is pointed outward so that the new branch win ' grow' out from the trunk, rather than criss-crossing with Other branches inside the foliage. Cutting above Ian 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. EVERY WEEKEND 1S VACATION TIME IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD Where you plunge onto your own pool �:� SLipES HEATERS • G AWES : • LOUNGE CHAIRS :•, SOLA:R BLANKET; ':SUNDRIFTERFLOATING LOUNGE F. SUND. RlFTER FOR FLOATING LOUNGE r • Rfall Valu* !20:1'$ No ►urchese Ns cs ssery offer axpttos July'1.11* • '‘COMPLETE WATER TESTING FREE't F CHARGE R.R. 2 A DIVISION OF CHAS. 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