Early Pruning Can Leave Trees Out On A Limb

What a fabulous seven days I’ve had at the Spokane Interstate Fair.

It has been wonderful meeting so many of you. We’ve shared gardening stories and tossed about many gardening concerns. For the next couple of weeks, I would like to share with you some of the most frequently asked questions.

1. Can we still prune trees and shrubs?

It’s getting a bit late in the season to be pruning. In some cases, pruning may stimulate new growth that can be damaged easily by freezing temperatures. Pruning may also keep some plants from going into dormancy.

If you must prune this fall, wait until November when all the leaves are off the trees and the plants are fully dormant. For most of us, it’s best to wait on the pruning chores until March. By then, the winter temperatures have started warming a bit, reducing the risk of damaging the plants.

Other pruning notes:

As a rule of thumb, prune evergreens in the spring, when the new growth begins to show.

Prune spring-flowering plants as soon as they are finished blooming. If you prune these specimens in the fall or before they flower, you run the risk of removing their blossoms. However, if proper cuts are made, even these beauties can be pruned in late fall or early spring.

Dead wood can be removed at any time.

Always, always make proper pruning cuts - NEVER TOP TREES. If you aren’t sure what a proper cut is, please ask.

2. Because of last winter’s toll on rhododendrons and climbing roses, many of us are looking for ways of protecting these gems this winter.

We need to protect the rhododendron leaves from bitter cold and wind (especially from the north), which dehydrates them. Cage shrubs if possible by wrapping them in burlap and stuffing pine needles between the burlap and the plant. Of course this technique doesn’t do much to enhance the winter landscape. But if your shrubs aren’t protected by a natural barrier, such as other evergreens, caging may be your only choice.

Coating the leaves with an anti-desiccant, like Wilt-Pruf or Safers for evergreens, helps tremendously. This material protects the leaves from losing water. It can be purchased ready-to-use or in concentrate from local garden centers.

Above all, make sure the plant has been watered in thoroughly before winter sets in, especially those plants that are under canopies of other trees or under the eaves of the house.

We need to protect the long canes of the climbing rose. If these canes burn back because of freezing temperatures and drying, icy cold winds, we’ll lose next year’s flowers.

The idea of removing the canes from the trellis, pulling them down to the ground and burying them in a long trench is quite impractical if not foolhardy. The canes are stiff, tangled, thorny and who has the room for a 10-foot trench at the base of their arbor?

If the rose is climbing on an arbor, try wrapping the rose and the arbor with burlap. If possible, pack pine needles in between the burlap and the rose. If the rose is growing against a building, recycle your Christmas tree by placing it in front of the rose and tying it to whatever is supporting the rose. The tree will protect the rose while providing a safe haven for our little feathered friends. Using the same anti-desiccant we used on the rhododendrons also may help.

3. What’s the ugly black spot on the bottom of tomatoes?

It’s blossom-end-rot. It may sound terrible, but it’s not a disease. It’s a cultural problem caused by a lack of calcium.

There is usually plenty of calcium in the soil, but unless the soil is moist, the plant cannot pick it up. Because of this summer’s high heat and drying winds, keeping the soil evenly moist has been nearly impossible. The soil drys out and we water, it drys and we water. Calcium is interrupted and blossom-end-rot occurs. Mulching the soil after it had been deeply watered would have helped to maintain even moisture.

Even though the tomato looks bad, it is still edible. Simply cut off the black spot and enjoy. Remember to water deeply and mulch next year.

Next week we will look at a few more of your concerns. Until then, I look forward to seeing you this weekend at the fair.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Phyllis Stephens The Spokesman-Review