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Gardening Calendar
Pruning
A colder than normal winter and more winter precipitation was expected this
winter and we are not out of the woods yet. If you have had winter damage in the
form of frozen leaves or damaged buds, don’t be too quick to prune. If there is
damage on them now, that can act as a buffer for additional damage. Wait until
spring before pruning to make sure what is damaged and what isn’t. This is a
critical month for our plants. Arkansas is known for the unknown and
fluctuations are normal. Periodic warm spells often get plants budding out. We
won’t be frost free for another month so pay attention to your plants and
protect if needed. Keep in mind that protection only gives you about 2-5 degrees
of protection, and plants usually don’t need it until they begin to show signs
of new growth of flower color. If you have broken branches from ice or snow
loads, then do prune those off as you spot them. The cleaner the cut the less
damage we will have.
Do get your pruning shears ready for late February. Annual pruning is needed
on hybrid tea roses, fruit trees, blueberries, and grape vines. Check with the
UA Fruit Experiment Station in Clarksville to attend the fruit pruning workshop
in early February. Their number is 479-754-2406. Watching someone show you how
to prune is much easier than reading about it. With proper pruning your trees
will be healthier and bear larger fruit.
With roses, know what you are growing before pruning. There are hybrid teas,
climbers, shrub roses and groundcovers. Hybrid tea rose bushes need to be pruned
back to within eight to eighteen inches of the ground every year. If you don’t
prune, you end up with a gangly plant with few flowers on the top branches. Keep
the interior of the bush as open as possible to allow sunlight and air to
circulate, which will aid in disease prevention . Allow the climbers to bloom in
the spring before pruning - so wait until April or early May for pruning
climbers. Antique roses, shrub roses and groundcover roses should be pruned as
needed. Know when your plants bloom before pruning. Some old varieties bloom
only once in the spring, so prune after bloom. For continuous bloomers shape as
needed prior to new growth beginning. They typically don’t need the severe
pruning described for the hybrid teas, but some pruning is called for to
encourage more flowers. Seal the cut edges with a little white glue to prevent
insects from boring into the stems.
The general rule for pruning ornamental plants is timing of flowers. If your
plants bloom all summer long, that means they bloom on the new or current season
growth. These are the plants we prune in late February to early March including
crape myrtles, abelia, althea (Rose of Sharon), buddleia, vitex, clethra (Summer
sweet), and summer spireas (Little Princess, Lime Mound, etc.) Prune crape
myrtles according to their growth habit - and only as needed. Don’t murder them!
Choose a variety that fits your landscape and then shape as needed. What we want
to see is a well branched tree in the landscape with beautiful bark and blooms.
Deadheading the old seed pods is not necessary as they will drop as new growth
begins. Do remove suckers from around the base.
Leave your spring bloomers alone or you will be removing flowers. Prune them
AFTER they bloom, not before. Evergreens grown primarily for foliage can be
pruned as needed for general shaping but if you need to do severe pruning do it
between now and early April to allow for quick recovery.
Annuals and Perennials
Just like we do annual pruning on fruit trees and rose bushes, all ornamental
grasses need an annual haircut as well. The key to timing is to get it done
before new growth begins. With larger grasses like pampas and Miscanthus, you
can’t cut completely to the ground, but you can take off the bulk of it. Monkey
grass and mondo grass (in the lily family so not true grasses) also need a
little clean-up before new growth begins. Look at other evergreen perennials and
give them a little clean-up before new growth kicks in. It is not unusual to
have some damaged foliage out there after the growing season we had last year.
Look at your hellebores or Lenten roses now - they are beginning to bloom in
some parts of the state, and other cool season perennials are up and growing.
Keep a little extra mulch handy to protect tender new plants. Hellebores are
tough, as are spring bulb foliage, but do avoid getting near any plants when
they are frozen as they are quite brittle then.
Hopefully your pansies, violas and flowering kale survived the winter and are
still blooming. Those who planted late may just now be seeing flower buds.
Deadhead any spent flowers and fertilize annuals now to keep them blooming.
Vegetables
Believe it or not, but it is time to start planting cool season vegetables.
They can tolerate light freezes. Don’t work in the soil if it is saturated, but
if you can till go for it. English peas, sugar snap peas and spinach can be
planted early, with greens, beets, lettuce, broccoli, carrots and cabbage to
follow close behind. Check your local nursery for asparagus crowns and plant as
soon as you can find them. Look for two year old crowns if you can find them so
you can harvest a bit next season. Early onion sets will appear later this
month. Use a general fertilizer at planting and keep mulch handy once the
seedlings are up.
Lawns
Winter weeds are growing nicely now and it won’t be long before we start
seeing flowers. If you want to kill them before they bloom and set seeds, now is
the time to do it Pick a day when the temperature is above freezing and there is
little to no wind when spraying. You may need a second application in a couple
of weeks if you have a lot of weeds. Use a product with 2,4-D in it plus
mecoprop and dicamba. These are post-emergent products and kill the broadleaf
weeds that are growing. Apply an application of pre-emergent herbicide or weed
preventer by March 1.
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