Whether you’re new to tree pruning or have been doing it for years, you’ll find that one of the best times to start is when plants are dormant in winter or early spring. You can see the branches that need to be removed without all of those leaves in the way. And it’s good for the tree, too: The rising sap in spring will stimulate new growth to make the wounds heal over faster.

With a couple of exceptions, you can prune almost any deciduous tree this time of year. Maples and birches bleed sap if their bark is injured in the spring. Losing sap won’t kill the tree, but it is messy as it runs down the trunk or drips from branches. It’s better to wait until midsummer to prune these two trees.

Here are a few problems to watch for: Water sprouts are shoots that grow strictly upright from along the main branches. Stubs are blunt-ended branches left on the tree that detract from its natural or graceful shape. Crossed or rubbing branches create opportunities for disease or pests to enter. And finally, high up in the tree, too many small branches block sunlight, so the tree might need a little thinning. Once you’ve spotted some of these problems in your tree, the next step is to gather the right pruning tools.

HANDHELD PRUNERS — Carry your pruners with you whenever you’re in the garden so you can snip small water sprouts, suckers and twigs as you spot them. Most pruners will cut branches with a 3/4-in. diameter with no problem. Some prefer bypass or scissor-cut pruners like these because they cut close to a branch and won’t leave a stub. Unlike anvil pruners, they’re less likely to crush the bark at the edge of the wound.

These Felco pruners are our favorite — buy our Pruning Gift Set, which includes a #2 or #6 pair of Felco pruners, a sheath and The Pruner’s Bible, and we’ll throw in a free sharpener.

PRUNING SAW — If you’re removing branches smaller than 3 in. in diameter, a pruning saw works fine. The curved blade allows you to get into tight places. Or try a double-edged pruning saw. One edge has coarse teeth for rough cutting and the other has smaller teeth for making finer finish cuts.

POLE SAW — With this tool, you won’t need to climb into the tree or drag a ladder out of the shed to reach branches 15 ft. up. This pole saw has a curved blade so you can hook onto and easily cut a 2-in.-diameter branch. On the opposite side of the saw is a hook with a lopper blade that cuts when you pull on a rope. It comes in handy when you’re snipping small branches or twigs as you thin the crown.

Click to see what fertilizer you need.

which fertilizer
do you need?

Ever wonder if you’re feeding your garden right? What plants need fertilizer? What type and how much should you apply? It can all seem pretty confusing. Here are some fertilizer facts to take the guesswork out of feeding your garden next year:

SHOULD I FERTILIZE EVERYTHING? — The quick answer is no. If you’ve worked lots of organic matter into your soil before planting, then added more every year or two, it may not need extra fertilizers. Some plants actually prefer lean, infertile soil. For example, feeding a tall sedum can make the stems weak and floppy so the plant falls open in the center. And applying the wrong fertilizer won’t help your plants much, either. If you give lawn fertilizer to a lilac, for instance, you’ll get lush foliage but few flowers.

HOW CAN I KNOW I’M BUYING THE RIGHT STUFF? — Just as you do when you buy food for your family, start by reading the label. There are three main ingredients in every fertilizer:

N=nitrogen, feeds foliage

P=phosphorus, produces flowers and fruit

K=potassium, keeps plants healthy and strong

You’ll find them listed in that order on every package. It’s the combinations of these ingredients that determine the best fertilizer for your plants. If you’re not sure what a particular plant needs, try feeding it at a quarter to half the recommended rate and see what happens. A water-soluble fertilizer works well for this because it gives a quick result. If the plant improves, feed a bit more the next time. Or switch to a granulated fertilizer with a similar analysis for long-term feeding. Take a look at the table to see what fertilizer analysis different types of plants need. (The actual numbers will vary from brand to brand, but the proportions will be similar.)

Click for larger image.

make your own pot feet

Designer pot feet look great but they can get expensive if you have a lot of containers. Now, while the garden is resting, is a good time to get a head start on making your own. Diane Johnson of Minnesota makes her own and saves that extra money for more plants. How? With soap molds from the craft store. You’ll also need mortar mix, vegetable oil or spray, water, a container and a stir-stick for mixing. If you want a specific color, get some concrete dye, too.

To make a set of pot feet like the one in the photo above, add water slowly to the mortar mix until it’s the consistency of a thick cake batter. Now’s the time to stir in the dye if you want colorful pot feet. Spray the mold lightly with vegetable spray and pour in the mix. Then tap it gently to get rid of air bubbles. Let the mold dry for 24 hours. If the mortar is dry to the touch, go ahead and pop the feet out of the mold. Let them cure another day or two to harden. After that, your new pot feet are ready to hold up containers.

Do you have a gardening tip? Submit it here!

dress up black
nursery pots

Do you have a stack of plastic nursery pots in your garage? Well, start now and by next spring you can make them into a stack of attractive pots. Here’s an idea for making them look good enough for the garden without spending a lot of time or a small fortune. You’ll make rolled-edge, stone-look containers from nursery pots that have been dressed up, for about $10 each in materials and a trip to the hardware store.

STEP ONE — This technique works best on sturdy pots with rims. First wash the pot well and dry it completely so the paint will stick to the plastic. Also, sand the pot lightly with fine sandpaper to scuff up the surface. The pipe insulation comes with a lengthwise slit in it. Pull the insulation apart along this slit and slide it onto the rim of the pot to see how long a piece you need to fit around the top edge. With scissors, cut the insulation to the right length, then remove it.

STEP TWO — Apply a bead of construction adhesive, such as Liquid Nails^®, to the top edge of the lip of the pot. Replace the insulation on the lip and place a piece of duct tape over the insulation where the two ends meet. The tape will hold it onto the pot and hide the gap, as well. You’ll be painting over the tape, so smooth it down to make it blend into the rim.

STEP THREE — Place the pot on a couple bricks or a piece of scrap wood outdoors so you can paint all the way to the bottom edge. Spray the outside of the pot and the insulation with paint, as well as the top 2 in. of the inside. The number of coats you’ll need depends on the color of your plastic pot. I liked the look of the black plastic showing through the paint, so I used a single coat. If you want to completely hide the underlying color, wait the time recommended on the can and apply a second coat.

After the paint is dry, spray or brush on a clear coat of sealer to protect the finish and give the pot a nice glazed look. A water-based urethane, like Varathane^® Outdoor Spar Urethane, is good to use because it won’t yellow when exposed to sunlight.

That’s all there is to creating a pot like this. Check out our Web extra for more tips and creative effects you can get with paint — the possibilities are almost endless!

There are two types of amaryllis bulbs; both have the same beautiful flowers. The bulbs you usually get during the holidays, called “Christmas bulbs,” take four to six weeks to bloom. “Dutch bulbs” usually have the largest flowers and bloom in eight to 12 weeks. Would you like that holiday amaryllis you’re growing right now to bloom again next summer? And did you know spring-started amaryllis can bloom all summer and then again indoors in winter? It takes a little planning, but no matter when you start, the process is the same. Here’s how to make it happen.

GET BLOOMING — Plant the largest bulb you can buy in all-purpose potting mix in a container that’s 1 1/2 to 2 in. wider than the diameter of the bulb. Let the top quarter of the bulb poke above the soil line. Water thoroughly and set in a sunny south-facing window. Once you see green, start watering every time the soil gets dry. You can also start fertilizing — Miracle-Gro^® Bloom Buster ^® 15-30-15 works well. You’ll get several bloom stalks, each lasting a week or two.

QUIET TIME — As flowers fade, pinch off spent blossoms and cut the flower stalks back at the base of the plant. Let the foliage continue to grow for eight weeks and keep watering and fertilizing normally. At this time, stop watering and move the pot to a cool, dark place (40 to 45 degrees) for another eight weeks and tip it on its side as a reminder not to water.

MORE BLOOMS — After the rest period, bring your amaryllis out and start over. Pull off the dead foliage and water. You may need to set the pot in a tub of water to rehydrate the dry soil. In several weeks you’ll get another flush of blooms. Though the flowers will probably be smaller than the first time, you can get several flushes of blooms over a couple of years from one bulb.

]]> http://www.gardengatenotes.com/2009/12/15/twice-is-nice/feed/ 0 http://www.gardengatenotes.com/2009/11/24/get-perennials-ready-for-spring/ http://www.gardengatenotes.com/2009/11/24/get-perennials-ready-for-spring/#comments Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:01:17 +0000 dgruca http://www.gardengatenotes.com/?p=3547 get perennials ready for spring

As the season dwindles down, garden tasks often seem to increase. But your work doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Here are a few things you can still tackle late this fall to make sure your garden is in shape and ready for spring.

REPAIR AND REPLACE TAGS —?Sure, you think you’ll remember the name of that new perennial next spring. But a tag is a big help. Now is the time to check old tags to make sure you can still read them, or put out new tags.

CUT OR LEAVE STANDING? — Research shows that perennials are more likely to survive winter if you don’t cut them off until spring cleanup time. The exceptions are plants that harbor pests, such as peonies with botrytis or iris with borers. Cut the foliage down, and if possible, burn it. Can’t burn in your municipality? Bury the material in the trench with the weeds.

TUCK ‘EM IN FOR THE WINTER — If you live where the ground freezes, a thick blanket of mulch over your perennials is good as an insurance policy. Your objective is not to keep the soil warmer, but to keep it at an even temperature. Wide temperature fluctuations between cold and warm damage roots and often cause winter kill. Once the plants are completely dormant and the ground is beginning to freeze, 4 to 6 in. of straw or crisp oak leaves (don’t chop them up first or they pack down too tightly) will do the trick. Leave this winter mulch in place until the weather warms up in spring. You’ll know it’s about time to remove it when the forsythia starts to bloom.

Read more about this and other stories in the current issue of Garden Gate magazine!

]]> http://www.gardengatenotes.com/2009/11/24/get-perennials-ready-for-spring/feed/ 0 http://www.gardengatenotes.com/2009/11/10/tips-to-bring-in-the-birds/ http://www.gardengatenotes.com/2009/11/10/tips-to-bring-in-the-birds/#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:01:42 +0000 dgruca http://www.gardengatenotes.com/?p=3614

Click to see a larger image.

tips to bring in the birds

Have you ever watched a robin splashing enthusiastically in a birdbath? Or witnessed a young bird step from a branch for its very first flight? If you have, you know what a joy watching our feathered neighbors can be. What you might not realize is that there are some simple things you can do to make your yard a more enticing place to all kinds of birds. Here are some tips to make your back yard into an enticing haven for lots of these feathered treasures.

PROVIDE BERRIES OR SEEDS ALL YEAR —?Because they fruit at different times, grow a couple different varieties of plants like serviceberry, hawthorn and dogwood to extend the berry season. And if you grow berry plants, double the number of your favorite ones. You’ll insure that there’s enough for both you and the birds. Plant fruit-bearing plants away from sidewalks, driveways and patio areas to reduce the mess. And be sure to feed seed and suet, as well. Different birds have different tastes.

KEEP FOUR-LEGGED VISITORS OUT OF FEEDERS — Use baffles below feeders or wrap posts in aluminum flashing to thwart furry looters. And don’t grow plants close to feeders. (They can hide predators like cats!)

DON’T LET THE WATER RUN DRY — Keep birdbaths and ponds filled all season. Reliable sources of water, especially moving water, will attract more birds. Remember to rinse and refill birdbaths often to help prevent disease and mosquitoes. In winter, keep it ice free with a heater, or empty ice and refill the birdbath every day. Also buy a birdbath with a rough or textured floor or add small stones to the bottom to prevent injury to birds.

PLACE YOUR POND IN THE OPEN — Avoid chemical runoff from surrounding lawn areas by building on level ground. Make an area of the pond 2 in. deep or less so birds won’t drown.

PLANT EVERGREENS FOR SHELTER — Spruce, hemlock, cedar and pine are great for nesting for cardinals, sparrows, towhees and other birds. They’ll also give birds a little relief from nasty winter storms that can sap their strength, thus helping them survive cold temperatures.

VARY HEIGHTS OF TREES, SHRUBS AND OTHER PLANTS — You’ll fill the needs of different birds who prefer to nest and feed in tree tops, shrubs or on the ground. And because it’s hard to fly with wet feathers, grow shrubs within 10 ft. of ponds or birdbaths for safe places to dry off a bit before flying away.

Check out a couple of ways to pamper your feathered visitors at right!

caging hyacinth bulbs

Rabbits and deer rarely munch on the bulbs, flowers or foliage of hyacinth. However, underground critters tunnel around the bulbs and leave air pockets that can stunt the growth. Or out of curiosity, squirrels may dig up bulbs shortly after they’re planted.

To help prevent both of these problems, plant hyacinth bulbs in a mesh cage like this one made with 1/2-in. hardware cloth. The sides are 6 in. high and the bottom is 12 in. across. Hya­cinths have a thick growing point that’s too large to push through the small holes in hardware cloth. So refill the hole and cage with soil and lay a chicken wire lid on top of the cage before refilling the hole the rest of the way. When you’re ready to dig and replace spent bulbs, the basket makes the clump easy to lift.

storing calla tubers

If you overwinter your callas, they’ll get bigger and bigger, producing a better show every year.

A light frost (30 to 32 degrees F) will kill the foliage without hurting the tubers. Let the foliage dry for a day or two. If a hard freeze (28 degrees F or colder) is in the forecast, dig the tubers as soon as possible or they may be damaged by the cold.

Lift the clump and snip off the foliage a couple of inches above the tuber as I’m doing in the top photo. Crumble off big clods of soil. Set the clump in a shady spot where it won’t freeze. Allow the soil to dry completely — this could take a few days. At this point, the roots and stem should be dry enough to come off easily. It’s critical that the tubers are completely dry before you store them because they’re prone to rotting during the winter.

I like to bury my tubers in dry peat moss in a plastic-lined cardboard box as I’m doing in the lower photo. (Wood shavings are also good storage material.) Make sure the tubers aren’t touching each other. If one rots, the rest may rot, too. Poke holes through the plastic and the side of the box, then loosely close the tops. It’s OK to stack boxes on top of one another.

Check your boxes a few times over the winter and remove any mushy tubers. Keep your callas in a cool, dry place that stays about 50 to 55 degrees F during the winter — an unheated basement or attached garage works well.

Click on the photo to see a larger image.

light up your garden

Remember how you hated to go when your mom called you inside as it got dark? With landscape lighting, you can stay outside and “play” in your garden a lot longer!

Garden lighting can illuminate a patio for entertaining, showcase a dramatic plant or highlight a path for safe walking. With lights, you get a completely different look in your garden after dark — and they make your home safer, too.

But before you go out and plop a bunch of lights into your flower beds, take time to decide what you need. Too many lights, or the wrong kind, might make your garden look like a carnival instead of a peaceful retreat. And poorly placed ones can annoy the neighbors or keep you awake at night. So let’s walk through your garden and figure out a lighting plan like the pros do.

DESIGN FIRST, INSTALL SECOND — Start by sketching out your yard on graph paper. This will make it easier to see where you need lights, without being distracted by whatever’s blooming at the time. When your sketch is done, here are three important things to consider as you decide where lights should go:

   Think about how you use your yard. Do you entertain outside? Do you sit on your deck in the evening? Are you worried about safety? On your sketch, mark where you like to sit, or dark areas that could use illumination.

   Pick one to three focal points to highlight. Too many focal points will be distracting. You might choose a specimen tree, an arbor or a special statue or sculpture.

   Figure out where you walk. What are your most traveled paths through the garden? Make sure those areas will be well-lighted.

Once you’ve marked all these points on your sketch, try out different looks in the garden with a flashlight. Get someone to hold the light while you see how it looks from different angles. Keep in mind you usually want to see the effect of the light, not the fixture or the light source itself.

Looking for attractive garden lighting? Check out the new Soji Modern Solar Lanterns at right!

easy bulb planting

Not many flowers rival the welcome splash of color that spring bulbs can give you. But if you’ve ever planted them in fall, you can appreciate the effort that goes into planting. When you have a lot of bulbs to plant, make it easier on yourself by using your drill and a bulb auger.

You can drill a lot of holes without much effort in lawns and even tough garden soil (but stay away from tree roots and hard-packed clay). Just make sure you’re using a 12-in. or shorter length auger (this one is 7 in.). The longer ones are more likely to bend when the going gets tough. However, the long-shafted augers are more comfortable to work with (you don’t have to bend as much) and they’re fine if you’re working in prepared soil.

If you have a small yard, run an extension cord and use an electric ½-in. drill with your auger. A powerful battery-operated drill also works, but you may have to recharge or switch battery packs frequently. Run it both as you push down and pull up to get the cleanest hole. (And wear eye protection.) Need a bigger hole for giant daffodil bulbs? Drill two holes side by side.

When you’re planting bulbs close together — 6 in. or so apart — the holes tend to cave in on one another. Enlist a friend and use a drill-and-drop planting technique: One person drills, the other drops the bulb into each hole and refills it. This means you won’t have to drill a hole, put down the drill, drop a bulb in, refill the hole, drill another hole, etc.

Read about other bulb-planting tools in the current issue of Garden Gate magazine.

metal ornaments in the garden

If you like the look of rusted metal ornaments in your garden, you’re in luck. Left unprotected, anything made of iron or steel will rust naturally when exposed to air and water. Copper, zinc and aluminum will corrode when exposed to the elements but things made from galvanized metal or stainless steel won’t rust at all.

Want to speed the process? Carefully spray a mixture of 1 cup each of vinegar and hydrogen peroxide, plus a teaspoon of salt, onto a steel or iron surface. Hose it off after an hour or so. You can also create a faux-rust on any paintable surface. Craft stores have a number of paints and solutions that’ll give your garden ornaments a rusty look.

Sometimes rust forms where you’d rather not have it, such as on chairs or handrails. In that case, remove it and apply a good protective paint, like Rust-Oleum^®, to keep the surface clean. Light rust can be removed by applying a runny paste of lemon juice and table salt and letting it set for five to 10 minutes. Scrub with sandpaper to remove.

And although rust in the soil won’t hurt your plants, some of the chemicals mentioned here may. So protect your plants and yourself when you use them.

what kind of bee?

Not sure what kind of bees you’re seeing? Here are some ID tips. Some carpenter bees and bumblebees may have slightly different markings than the ones here, but the hairiness of the body is still a good clue. Carpenter bees are solitary bees, unlike bumblebees and honeybees, so you won’t see a colony of them.

At about 1 in. long, carpenter bees (top illustration) are usually the largest of the three, with shiny, not furry, abdomens. They fly rapidly at about head height.

Bumblebees (middle illustration) are smaller — 1/2 to 3/4 in. — and furrier than carpenter bees. They fly slowly near the ground. Some have pollen baskets on their hind legs.

Honeybees are the smallest of the group, at about 3/8 to 5/8 in. long, and fly more quickly. More tan than yellow, they also may have pollen baskets.

PHOTO: © Neil Soderstrom

saving marigold seeds

Did you know that you could save seeds from this year’s marigolds for next year’s flowers? Marigold seeds ripen easily on the plant if you don’t deadhead all of the spent flowers. Once the heads turn brown, break a pod or two open. If the seeds are dark brown or black like the ones in the photo, they’re ready to harvest. Gather heads from several plants to get a good blend of colors. Plus, it’s insurance in case one plant’s seeds are not viable.

Lay the pods in a dry place to continue to dry out — it could take two weeks. If the seeds are too moist, they’ll rot during storage. When they’re dry, break the heads open and gather the seeds. Store them in an airtight container in a cool, dark place until spring.

If you only grow one cultivar of marigold in your garden, it probably won’t change much from the parent. Pollen from other marigolds in the area can create your own “hybrids.” The color can change from the original, as can the height and spread. However, if you prefer a row of marigolds that all match perfectly, it’s best to buy seeds each year.

Click on the photo for a larger image

easy access

Whether your garden is large or small, you need to be able to get into it without crushing plants, compacting soil and stepping on dormant bulbs or new transplants. Here are some ideas for working an access path into your garden design.

BIG AND BEAUTIFUL — Large gardens, like the one you see here, give you more options. One option is to make an access path through the garden. But if you have the room, why not place it in back? That way, you’re not walking on the soil in the growing area as much. And a path hidden by plants doesn’t have to look as good as the garden around it. Cover the soil with pea gravel, bark mulch, a few concrete steppers or even a board — whatever keeps your feet dry and doesn’t cost a lot.

SMALL STEPS — In a small cutting garden a few strategically placed steppers do the trick. Because they’re visible, choose something colorful or with a pattern that complements your garden style. Then they’ll not only be practical, they’ll be pretty, too.

Placing the entrance to the side makes it less conspicuous. A width of 2 to 3 ft. should provide enough room to work. After all, you might want to bring a load of compost in or haul a bunch of clippings out so you want your wheelbarrow to fit easily down the path, too.

creative staking

Sooner or later, you’re going to have a floppy plant that needs some help standing tall. Of course, there are all kinds of plant supports available, from inexpensive bamboo stakes to the more high-end vinyl-coated Y-stakes and plant supports. But sometimes it’s fun to use something that’s a little unusual to keep your plants on the up-and-up. Here are a couple of ideas that work well and are simple to do.

LEAN ON ME — How can you throw away a trusty old rake, even if it’s losing its teeth like the one at right? Cut the handle off at an angle so it will poke into the soil easily. If your New England aster starts to lean, the rake provides a simple prop.

CLIMBER CLIPS — Small spring-hinged hair clips hold plants to bamboo stakes. Make sure the “fingers” of the clip can go around the stake, as they do in the bottom photo, without pinching the stem. The clips come in lots of colors, so choose bright ones for tiny accents, or clear or dark ones for more subtle support.

Check out lots of other creative gardening ideas in Easy Weekend Gardening, Vol. 3 at right.

When you shop for perennials, how do you know which plant is the best value? Our video tells you what to look for on your next trip to the garden center.

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Soaker hoses are a gardener’s best friend. Just set them in your flower garden once in spring and don’t move them again until you put them away in fall.

These porous, capped hoses, available from garden centers and hardware stores, lie on the ground and “sweat” when hooked up to water. The water soaks into the soil and nothing is lost to evaporation or overspray. In flower beds use long hoses. For young trees, you can also find soaker rings, like the one below right.

Here are some tips for working with soakers:

? Find a length that works best with your bed. In a flower bed, there’s nowhere to go with extra hose, and hooking too many together may compromise your water pressure.

? Before you put one in the garden, lay it in the sun so it’s flexible.

? Use ground staples to pin the hose in place around tight turns.

? Mulch over your hoses to hide them.

? If your soaker springs a leak, duct tape it — or don’t. This is one time a leaky hose doesn’t matter!

pick a pack of peppers

Starting the seeds of flowers or veggies indoors in early spring is a great way to get a lot of plants for not much money. Before you know it, they’re large enough to pot up and begin to harden them off outdoors.

Here’s a tip to make moving the seedlings a lot easier. Slide the pots into cardboard four- or six-pack bottle holders. The holders have handles, so they’re easy to carry, either to move the seedlings or to share them with friends. And the holders keep the pots from tipping over as they do if they’re just set in a tray.

Want more great tips on vegetable gardening? Check out Creative Vegetable Gardening at right.

There’s a conifer for almost any landscaping situation. They can be mixed into perennial gardens or foundation plantings. Some make wonderful hedges, shrub borders and even specimen plants. But sometimes you need to prune conifers to keep them looking their best and in scale with their surroundings.

Timing is important when pruning conifers. Spring is a good time to prune many of them. But within that, some recover best if you prune before new growth starts, and others do best if you prune just as the new growth is starting: With many junipers, false cypresses, yews and hemlocks, prune in early spring, before new growth stretches. That way the new foliage will cover up where you’ve cut so you’re not left all season with a plant that looks as if it just had a haircut. Pine, spruce and fir are best pruned just as new tips, the candles, begin to stretch in spring. All you need to do is nip back the shoots before the new needles form.

PHOTOS: © Richard Bloom

The ‘Prostrata’?spruce (Picea pungens) in the top photo is beginning to get too large for its place in the garden. Rather than remove it, prune it. The first step is to cut back the branches that are forming leaders. Click on the photos for larger images.

Next, shorten the longest side branches. Never cut the stem back to a point where there’s no foliage left. If you do, some, such as yew and hemlock, will leaf out again. But most won’t, and you’ll be left with lots of bare stubs. The spruce in the second photo still has a natural-looking form, but now it fits better in its surroundings and new growth will quickly cover the cuts.

For more information on pruning all kinds of plants, check out The Pruner’s Bible at right.