Let's discuss pruning. There are so many theories out there, I feel that I should share mine. I had a professor of tree fruits in college who always said two things. If you asked him,"When is the best time to prune professor?" He would respond, "When the saw is sharp." This response is good for the most part. For most plants it really doesn't matter when you prune. There are some plants like Oaks that should only be pruned when its cold so you don't run the risk of catching Oak Wilt. There are also some plants like clematis that have to be pruned according to what type of clematis you have, and some plants that should be pruned right after blooming, like lilacs and forsythia. There are some plants that are easier to prune in the late fall or early spring because its easier to see what you are doing when there are no leaves on the branches. You should avoid pruning in summer due to heat stress and you should avoid pruning in late summer because you don't want to force any new growth that won't harden off in time for the winter. But all in all most of these things are not life threatening with the exception of the Oak Wilt, so he was basically right that you can prune when the saw is sharp. If you asked him, "How do I know when to stop pruning on my apple tree?" He would say, "When you can throw a cat through it." I never really liked that one because I like cats but it made me remember it and it makes sense. I have heard other people say, " When you can throw a basketball through it." but in the case of a cat you have to picture them with all four legs out stretched and their claws grasping at anything within reach. If you prune your apple tree enough to throw that cat through then you have taken off enough. The reason we prune our apple trees that way is three fold. Number one is reducing the amount of branches an apple (or other fruit trees) have increases the amount of light that gets to the developing fruit. Number two reason is that less branches means better airflow and less disease. Number three reason is that you eliminate the branches that are growing vertically and leave the strong horizontal branches which gives the fruit a better flow of nutrients within the tree and it reduces the amount of branches that produce fruit. Instead of getting a lot of small fruit you get a smaller amount of large scrumptious fruit. A fruit tree is not going to win any beauty awards for aesthetics but it may for fruit production.
Another type of pruning I want to address in this article is called renewal pruning. Any multi-stemmed shrub like viburnums, lilacs, forsythia, dogwoods, witchhazel, deutzia etc etc. can be renewal pruned. What this means is you take 3-4 of the heaviest oldest stems out at the ground level. Every branch on a plant has a hormone at the tip of the branch that controls the growth of the buds behind it. When this hormone is removed, the rest of the branch says, "Oooooh I can grow now!!" So it does. So if you prune at the tips of the branches all the time that is where you will get the growth and soon your plant will be top heavy and look like a woman holding her dress up with her skinny legs beneath. If you prune at the ground level you will get new growth at the ground level and thus you are renewing your plant. If you do this every year you will always have new growth at the bottom which will keep the plant full. Removing the oldest stems will also reduce the height of the plant, and it will also keep the natural form of the plant. Renewing a plant also helps in insect control. Most borers will only attack a plant that is under stress. By keeping the plant young you are reducing the stress and the borers will not attack. Unfortunately this does not apply to Emerald Ash Borer. If you have a specific pruning question, I would be glad to answer it.
Happy pruning.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Two for the Price of One
Two for the Price of One
I believe that it is human nature to love a bargain. I have to laugh when certain stores make a huge announcement saying, “this week only the whole store will be on sale come quickly for the bargains”. Of course the next week they have the same huge announcement. We are attracted to these “bargains”.
I just returned from a trip that took us through Illinois where they were selling fireworks. If you bought one you could receive 6 additional fireworks for free. This was a sale that was tough to pass up. I did pass it up however because I enjoy the neighborhood that I live in. Because plants are always on my mind I mused that nurseries should advertise in a similar fashion. “Two plants for the price of one”. Due to the fact that many of our woody plants are actually two plants put together to make one desirable plant, nurseries could technically say they are selling two for the price of one.
Let me explain this train of thought. My wife is always saying my mind is obscure and hard to understand. Her actual quote which was invented by my wife and my friend Tina is, “Your jokes are predictable and obscure.”
Many plants are selected and sold because their traits are more desirable than their parents. These plants we only want to multiply through an asexual method. If the plants were propagated sexually or through seed we might lose the desirable traits. My wife was afraid of this when we had kids and that is why she spent much of her pregnancy praying that our offspring would not get my singing voice.
The methods of asexually propagating a woody plant are cuttings, micro-propagation or tissue culture, layering, and grafting. Each method has its advantages but they all end up with a “clone” of the original plant.
Many of the woody plants that are purchased at our nurseries are grafted. The main method of producing roses, apples, shade trees and specialty conifers is by some type of grafting. I can only think of a couple of nurseries that produce roses by other means.
On the other hand, most of our ornamental shrubs are produced by cuttings. The propagating nurseries will cut off a branch and stick it into a medium. Sometimes the mediums scream but the propagators wear ear plugs. Actually the medium is a gelatinous material with hormones and nutrients in it. They will use a structure around the cutting to insure the branch doesn’t dry out and soon the cutting will produce roots and then a little plant that will grow up to look and act just like mama.
When you purchase a grafted plant you are actually purchasing two plants for the price of one. The roots come from a different mother than the branches. The root part of the plant is called the rootstock and the branches are called the scion wood.
What people might not realize is that the rootstock affects the growth of the scion wood. The effects of the rootstocks are often times beneficial to the top growth of the plant. This can be seen in grafting apples to certain rootstocks to get a dwarfing effect. Rootstocks can also put a certain amount of stress on the tops. This stress causes the plant to produce more fruit. Also by grafting a mature scion onto a rootstock you can get plants to flower and fruit more quickly.
Scions can also be grafted high on the trunk of the rootstock. A plant with a high graft is called a standard. Standards are often used on weeping plants.
One of the problems with purchasing grafted plants or two plants for the price of one is the rootstock can produce branches or suckers. These suckers can grow very fast and outgrow the desirable scion. I have seen many crabapples and roses that have been taken over by overly aggressive root suckers. Suckers need to be dealt with in a cruel way. Cut them out as close to the root as possible without any remorse.
Buying grafted plants is beneficial. Grafting is labor intensive. The nurseryman has good reasons for this method of propagation. You can look at it as just another deal of getting two plants for the price of one. My only warning is don’t let the root suckers take advantage of your good deal.
I believe that it is human nature to love a bargain. I have to laugh when certain stores make a huge announcement saying, “this week only the whole store will be on sale come quickly for the bargains”. Of course the next week they have the same huge announcement. We are attracted to these “bargains”.
I just returned from a trip that took us through Illinois where they were selling fireworks. If you bought one you could receive 6 additional fireworks for free. This was a sale that was tough to pass up. I did pass it up however because I enjoy the neighborhood that I live in. Because plants are always on my mind I mused that nurseries should advertise in a similar fashion. “Two plants for the price of one”. Due to the fact that many of our woody plants are actually two plants put together to make one desirable plant, nurseries could technically say they are selling two for the price of one.
Let me explain this train of thought. My wife is always saying my mind is obscure and hard to understand. Her actual quote which was invented by my wife and my friend Tina is, “Your jokes are predictable and obscure.”
Many plants are selected and sold because their traits are more desirable than their parents. These plants we only want to multiply through an asexual method. If the plants were propagated sexually or through seed we might lose the desirable traits. My wife was afraid of this when we had kids and that is why she spent much of her pregnancy praying that our offspring would not get my singing voice.
The methods of asexually propagating a woody plant are cuttings, micro-propagation or tissue culture, layering, and grafting. Each method has its advantages but they all end up with a “clone” of the original plant.
Many of the woody plants that are purchased at our nurseries are grafted. The main method of producing roses, apples, shade trees and specialty conifers is by some type of grafting. I can only think of a couple of nurseries that produce roses by other means.
On the other hand, most of our ornamental shrubs are produced by cuttings. The propagating nurseries will cut off a branch and stick it into a medium. Sometimes the mediums scream but the propagators wear ear plugs. Actually the medium is a gelatinous material with hormones and nutrients in it. They will use a structure around the cutting to insure the branch doesn’t dry out and soon the cutting will produce roots and then a little plant that will grow up to look and act just like mama.
When you purchase a grafted plant you are actually purchasing two plants for the price of one. The roots come from a different mother than the branches. The root part of the plant is called the rootstock and the branches are called the scion wood.
What people might not realize is that the rootstock affects the growth of the scion wood. The effects of the rootstocks are often times beneficial to the top growth of the plant. This can be seen in grafting apples to certain rootstocks to get a dwarfing effect. Rootstocks can also put a certain amount of stress on the tops. This stress causes the plant to produce more fruit. Also by grafting a mature scion onto a rootstock you can get plants to flower and fruit more quickly.
Scions can also be grafted high on the trunk of the rootstock. A plant with a high graft is called a standard. Standards are often used on weeping plants.
One of the problems with purchasing grafted plants or two plants for the price of one is the rootstock can produce branches or suckers. These suckers can grow very fast and outgrow the desirable scion. I have seen many crabapples and roses that have been taken over by overly aggressive root suckers. Suckers need to be dealt with in a cruel way. Cut them out as close to the root as possible without any remorse.
Buying grafted plants is beneficial. Grafting is labor intensive. The nurseryman has good reasons for this method of propagation. You can look at it as just another deal of getting two plants for the price of one. My only warning is don’t let the root suckers take advantage of your good deal.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)