Category Archives: alley bed

Dappled Willow

alley bed, spring cleanup,

Today I had some time to sit down with the Month by Month Gardening in Michigan book I mentioned a few posts ago. I studied the February sections (yes I know it’s the 22nd of the month) on bulbs, herbs & vegetables, perennials, roses, shrubs, and ornamental grasses.

I found deciduous shrubs can be pruned back after mid-month. The sap is still safely nestled down near the roots of the plant. Hoorah! I get to play outside in the garden. Well, when it warms up again I’ll do so. The plant that will be receiving my early pruning efforts will be our dappled willow (Hakura Nishiki).
A neighbor to the monster sedum mentioned earlier, this plant started out as a pretty, modest-sized resident of the alley bed. It exploded over the summer, growing very large at a swift rate. It swallowed two tulips and a hosta. (Don’t fret, the tulips retreated back into the ground and I saved/relocated the hosta.) 
Apparently, this is a trait of the species. In fact, some sites recommend trimming the plant back more than once. The National Gardening Association suggests: 

This plant can be pruned back in the spring to remove winter damage and to encourage branching and bushiness from the base. You may also need to prune periodically during the season to keep it that small. To avoid a sheared effect, trim individual older branches off near the base to thin the plant, and then trim longer tips off individually by reaching deeper inside the shrub.

Many gardeners seem to agree with this. In fact, the severity of the first pruning is often described as “vigorous” and “thorough.” Not only does it keep the shrub at a manageable size, but the best dapple-like pattern appears on new growth. The dappled willow can be trimmed back to 12″ or 1/3 of the branch can be removed.

Sedum

alley bed, spring cleanup, winter

While I’m awaiting spring to arrive, I thought I’d start doing some homework on garden cleanup. I purchased a great book last year, Month by Month Gardening in Michigan. This weekend will allow me more time to browse through it, but I do know it doesn’t go into detail beyond basic plant categories. Therefore, I’m going to look up some individual plants to see how I should be catering to them in a month or so.

Sedum
I remember this as being the only type of succulent we have on our lot. Out of all the different types of sedum, I believe our plants are Autumn Joy. There are several around, but the largest by far grows in the back alley bed. This guy grew enormous last year with beautiful color arriving in late summer or early fall. I read Sedum prefer well drained soil, so this full sun bed more than likely kept the moisture level down and the plant happy.
As far as spring cleanup, most sites recommend using pruners to trim old stems and flowers back to the ground. Be careful not to prune the new growth. Mulch around the plant, but avoid placing mulch right up to the stems or else rot may occur. Since Sedum likes well drained soil,  rocks are suggested as a mulch option for this type of plant.
Let’s return to the enormous, beautiful Sedum from last year. By early fall, a hard rain would soak the flower heads and cause the plant stems to droop. The thin stems grew so long they couldn’t support the water weight. The Yardener site suggests trimming stems by about 1/3rd in early summer (late May or early June) before the flowers form to avoid this problem in the fall. I’m definitely going to give the technique a try.
I was wondering last year if the monster in the alley bed would have to be divided this spring. It seems sedum tell you they need to be divided when the center of the plant no longer has stems growing from it. I’ll keep an eye on the plants this spring and will address the “how to” when/if  necessary.