Larry Smith and the Riverside Gardens team talk all things pots, plants and pruning in their weekly gardening column.
Well, how about that for timing: the first week of winter and the first few days of gloomy cold weather to go with it, right on cue. We also received delivery dates for our winter bare-rooted ornamental trees and fruit trees, with the majority of them arriving today and the rest by mid-next week.
There is a lot of work to be done now to get them sorted and tagged, orders pulled out, and the rest heeled into the holding sand beds for sale. It certainly makes for a busy few days and an even busier few weeks as we start potting some of the trees for sale later in the season.
It is the time of year in the nursery when we receive 12 months’ worth of stock of deciduous ornamental trees, fruit trees, roses and citrus trees, all within a couple of weeks. It can be a bit daunting at times, but it is also exciting.
It is also the time of the year when people say, “winter is here”, and head out into the garden and start pruning, but really, it is still too early to start cutting things back unless you really must. Most of the deciduous plants in our region might look dormant, but there is still strong sap flow as the plants prepare for the colder winter months.
I would leave pruning of most deciduous trees until July and mid-July for roses and grapes. As for Japanese maples, I suggest pruning them just before spring, and citrus trees I would leave until after the main spring growth because this will help control damage from the wasp attack.
With pruning season just around the corner, it is a good time to get things ready and ensure you have the right tools for the tasks ahead.
You are going to need a sharp pair of secateurs, preferably a bypass type where the blade passes by the anvil and does not strike the middle of it. This type of secateurs is more versatile for the home gardener, where you will move from pruning hardwood plants to soft tissue plants within one garden. When using bypass secateurs, keep the blade side of the secateurs facing the part of the plant remaining and the anvil striking the timber to be removed. This limits the damage at the site of the cut, and the bruised timber is left on the removed portion of the branch.
A pair of long-handled bypass loppers will also come in handy; these are much preferable to taking multiple goes at cutting through bigger branches. Twisting secateurs back and forth to make a cut will leave damaged tissue and allow entry of diseases.
A sharp, hand-pruning saw is the third tool in your kit, and this is for the next-size-up cut. There are some good lightweight pruning saws around that are flexible and cut on both the push and pull strokes, which are a lot easier and more efficient to use.
Apart from all that, you are ready to go.
Pruning techniques and goals will vary from plant to plant, so if you are unsure of how to go about pruning something or what you are trying to achieve, call in to the garden centre, and we can give you a quick run-through on pruning basics.
Here are a few tips that apply to most pruning jobs.
• Always make sure your pruners are sharp and clean, and keep a blade-sharpening tool with you.
• Make your final cut about the thickness of the stem away from the bud you are pruning.
• Prune to good, healthy outward-facing buds or nodes.
• Angle the final cut so that it sheds water from its surface.
• The bud should be on the longer side of the angled cut.
• Your final cut should be a clean, single cut, leaving a smooth-surface finish.
• Seal any large cuts with an appropriate wound sealant.
• If you are unsure, ask questions from someone who knows.
These few basics will get you a long way, but remember, we are always here to help, so call and chat.
Happy pruning next month!