Posted: 12/10/2019 | Filed under: Blog, Malaquias' Gardening Tips
We recommend winter pruning on late spring-to-summer blooming deciduous trees for a few reasons; this is only a few weeks before the buds swell and the sap starts flowing, and the cuts will have healed over. Plants such as crape myrtles and roses bloom better on new wood. This winter pruning helps stimulate that process. Trimming the buds on the early spring bloomers like wisteria, lilac, spiraea, or magnolia s. means missing out on a flowering season! Prune those types in late summer or right after blooming. Some general pruning guides lines are: Start with the obvious dead, damaged or diseased limbs. Then go on to the unwanted branches, like overlapping or rubbing ones. Finish with the twigs and suckers, and you should be left with a healthy, well-structured plant.
Another topic is the fruit tree garden; in the winter we strongly recommend spraying liquid copper on fruit trees to prevent fungal diseases that plague them. The diseases most commonly show up as leaf curl in peaches and nectarines, and fire-blight in apples and pears. Also, brown rot, which causes the fruiting flowers to collapse resulting in no fruit! Boo! It’s easier than it sounds, I promise.
Welcome to the Frantz Garden Center Blog. Check out our digital newsletter, The ComPost, to see what is in season, learn about landscaping and gardening trends, and stay in the loop on upcoming events and sales at the Garden Center. You can also check out Malaquias’ Gardening Tips, helping turn everyone’s thumbs a little greener. Thank you for supporting Frantz Garden Center! Malaquias Vega, our in-house extraordinaire, will help you become a better gardener, by giving you useful, creative, and cost effective tips to maintain and grow your home garden.
