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. IRUINSMA CONSTRUCTION
GOOERiCH'
524-11$04.