Pruning Time
County Agent News
Dan Folske
March 15, 2010
Pruning Time
Now through early April is a good time to prune most leafy shrubs. This pruning will “renew” the plants, keeping them young and vigorous. It also helps plants to maintain their natural form. Once shrubs get about five years old, they will benefit from renewal pruning. You can remove the oldest, thickest stems each year, cutting at ground level. Keep in mind that pruning stimulates new growth wherever you make cuts. By cutting at ground level, you will stimulate new growth from the base of the plant, thereby developing a fuller bush. Try not to remove more than one-third of the growth during any single year. Every situation is different, but usually it is best to try to prune out about 20% of the oldest canes every year.
Young shrubs need very little pruning. Only remove dead wood, broken branches, and branches that rub against one another. After about five years, shrubs are well-established and require regular pruning.
Lilacs, forsythia, and other springflowering shrubs are now loadedwith flower buds. You can prune them now, but you will be reducing your spring bloom. Most gardeners wait to prune these shrubs immediately after they are done blooming. Follow the same techniques described above under renewal pruning.
Sometimes it’s best to prune badly overgrown shrubs down to the ground. This can be done for neglected forsythia, Annabelle hydrangea, honeysuckle, potentilla, privet and pink-flower spireas.
These plants will establish new growth quickly. Severe pruning is best done during the dormant season.
Vegetable Varieties For North Dakota
NDSU Extension Horticulturist Tom Kalb has published the results of the 2009 Home Garden Variety Trials. Almost 350 gardeners from across North Dakota participated in testing vegetable and flower varieties in their gardens in 2009. Each trial consisted of two varieties of a vegetable or flower species. Gardeners planted a 10 foot row of each variety and reported on things like germination, seedling vigor, plant growth, maturity comparisons, yield, taste, and color. The results of these trials can be found online at http://www.dakotagardener.com/trials/2009summary.pdf or you can pick one up at the Burke County Extension office.
Burke County Fair
The next meeting of the Burke County Fairboard will be Thursday, April 8th at 7:00pm in the Burke County Courthouse.
