Category Archives: education

When to Prune (Shrub Name)

education, pruning, spring, the Lot

Since having received my Master Gardener Volunteer Certification, I’ve noticed I receive a handful of frequently asked questions. One of the more popular is “When is the best time to prune (name of flowering shrub)?” In our Zone 6a, pruning can be carried out in late winter, early spring, spring, or late summer. Which of those times a gardener picks to administer the horticultural haircut depends upon when the shrub blooms.

When to Prune Spring-Blooming Shrubs

If the shrub usually blooms in the spring, the best time to prune it would be immediately after the blooms fade. These shrubs form the next season’s flower buds during the previous summer. If you prune the shrub before it blooms in the spring, you will be trimming off all the flower buds. These shrubs include:

  • Forsythia
  • Lilac
  • Spirea
  • Weigela
  • Viburnum
  • Rhododendron
  • Fothergilla
  • Azalea

When to Prune Summer-Blooming Shrubs

Summer flowering shrubs are showing off blooms from buds grown that season. Prune these shrubs in late winter or early spring before they begin to push out new growth. The shrub will be able to devote all its energy to its upcoming flower display rather than wasting time on diseased or dead branches. The shrubs include:

  • Butterfly Bush
  • Potentilla
  • Rose of Sharon
  • Summersweet
  • Crape Myrtle
  • Saint Johnswort
  • Rose
  • Smoke Tree

When to Prune Hydrangea

There always has to be that one plant in the garden, right? Hydrangeas are a special case when it comes to pruning because it depends on what type of hydrangea you are growing. Most hydrangeas (oak leaf, mophead, lacecap) will bloom on old wood, having formed buds last season. This means pruning is best done after blooming in spring. However, reblooming varieties have buds on old and new growth, so the timing of pruning doesn’t matter as much. Still other hydrangeas form buds only on new growth. These would be trimmed in late winter or early spring the same as any other summer-blooming shrub.

Additional Resources

Shrub Pruning Calendar by the Virginia Cooperative Extension

Smart Gardening – An All Access Pass

education

This past Saturday, Miss A., Mom G. and I all attended the 2015 Smart Gardening conference hosted by the MSU Extension office. This all day conference brings together a selection of experts from across the country to speak on a variety of gardening subjects. Before the day’s presentations began, updates on the Smart Gardening initiative was shared with the room of over three hundred gardeners.

The concept of “Smart Gardening” is meant to describe an approach to gardening that includes “science-based gardening, environmental awareness, and sustainability.” The main barrier to this approach tends to be a lack of information. The MSU Extension aims to overcome this barrier by making accessible gardening facts and tips to the general public. They have done a fantastic job doing so with the new Smart Gardening website, focusing on Smart Plants, Smart Lawns, and Smart Soils.

Free Tip Sheets on Plants, Lawns, and Soil

On the Smart Gardening website, there are many free tip sheets available as downloadable pdfs. Want advice on weed and grub control in the lawn? Download the Mow High pdf. Ever wonder what all those numbers on the fertilizer bags mean and which fertilizer to use? Download the Fertilizer Basics pdf. Have a shady area of the yard where you cannot seem to get grass to grow? Download the Shady Lawn Alternatives pdf.

Have a Gardening Question?

If you are not able to find an answer to your gardening question within the Smart Gardening website, you can use the Ask an Expert feature. This allows anyone to submit a question to a gardening hotline of sorts. Maybe you found a suspicious looking insect chomping on your favorite garden plant. Snap a picture of it, attach it to your question, and send it off to an expert to be identified.

Being a Good Steward is Simple

What is best of all is that anyone can be a Smart Gardener. It really is quite simple. Free information on how to do so has been made available. There are no complicated techniques or huge investments needed. If anything, being a Smart Gardener will save you time, energy, and expense. Check out the site and give it a try.

Puzzled about Poinsettia Care

education, winter

Several people have recently asked me how to care for Poinsettia plants. The Poinsettia (Euphobia pulcherrima) is a popular gift choice to give during the winter holiday season. When I started researching care for the plant I discovered December 12th is National Poinsettia Day. The University of Illinois Extension provides some history and fun facts about the plant on their Poinsettia Pages.

For example, “in Mexico the Poinsettia is a perennial shrub that will grow 10-15 feet tall.” It was introduced to the United States by Joel Roberts Poinsett, a botanist and first United States Ambassador to Mexico.

Through my reading I also found the holiday plant, with its colorful bracts (modified leaves), is quite the diva. If you do not provide it with exactly everything it demands, it will throw a tantrum and drop those beautiful leaves. Take that! Only filtered water in its dressing room!

Not Too Cold, Not Too Warm

When selecting a place in your home to display the Poinsettia, be sure it does not sit in an area that is prone to cold drafts. The foliage should be kept away from cool window panes. Conversely, the plant should also not be set near appliances or on the television where it could receive too much heat.

An ideal temperature range to keep the Poinsettia blooming is between 65-70 degrees during the day. In the evening, the plant will benefit from a lower temperature of 60 degrees. However, temperatures below 60 could cause root rot.

Not Too Damp, Not Too Dry

Most Poinsettia pots are wrapped in colored foils when sold as gifts. Remove the pot from the foil so water does not sit at the bottom of the plant between the foil wrapper and pot. If you must, must, must have that festive foil, poke multiple holes in the bottom of the foil to allow water to drain.

Poinsettias can be watered when the soil surface is dry to the touch. But never let the plant’s soil completely dry out. It’s a good idea to check the soil daily. Soak the soil until water runs from the drainage holes. If you place a saucer beneath the pot, be sure excess water is dumped.

Bright Light, but Not Too Bright

The Poinsettia will be happiest where it will be exposed to bright, indirect, natural light but not sitting directly in sunlight. Areas near south facing windows are ideal. East or west will work too, but watch out for cool drafts near windows, especially at night. The combination of bright light and low humidity of winter may require the plant be watered more often.

Will the Poinsettia Rebloom?

Poinsettia

The pictured plant is Mom G’s Poinsettia from a past holiday. It is doing fairly well, but is leggy and she says a bit unpredictable in its blooming. Maintaining a commercial greenhouse vigor in a Zone 5b home environment is tricky.

A Poinsettia can rebloom the following holiday, but the care regime to ensure this is quite grueling. The New Mexico State University Extension, Ohio State University Extension, and Michigan State University Extension all have helpful pdfs for anyone willing to take on the yearlong challenge. Many people, myself included, will compost the plant after it has finished its holiday display.