Archive for the ‘Trees and Shrubs’ Category

Over Wintering Potted Plants

October 11th, 2009

A few of the new shrubs waiting to be heeled in

A few of the new shrubs waiting to be heeled in

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        Though the 2009 gardening season is quickly winding down, there is still a lot of gardening to be enjoyed.

         For instance, fall has become one of my favourite times of year not because of the colours and cooler temperatures, but because of the deals to be had at the local greenhouses and nurseries!

         We have one local grower that is offering all, yes, all, four inch pots of perennials for $.99! Even those regularly priced at $5.99 and $6.99!! Makes resisting the urge to squeeze more plants into an already overflowing bed very difficult. And of you have decided to renovate your perennial gardens, you can do so without spending a fortune. Check out your local growers for awesome bargains in late fall.

         Trees and shrubs are also dirt cheap these days. Matter of fact, yesterday I succumbed to the lure of a great deal on several shrubs that have long been on my wish list. What is a great deal? Less than wholesale! And they were purchased from a grower not a reseller, so I know I’m getting quality plants, not the beaten up ones that they couldn’t sell during the height of the season.

         Will I (we) get all these plants into the ground before freeze-up? No, especially now that my other half has decided to get in on the landscape design. So what will happen to the plants over winter? We’ll heel them in and hold them over until next spring. That will give “himself” and me time to hash out a compromise over the winter.

         For new gardeners that have never attempted to heel-in plants, here’s how we do it:

 Dig a trench in a protected area of your yard as wide and deep as the plants’ pots. If you have several different sized pots, put all the same sized together. Yes, you may end up digging a few trenches, but just think of the work out you’ll be getting!

 Set the plant, pot and all in the trench leaving a few inches between the pots.

 Backfill around the pots with soil to the top of the pot.(Do not bury the stem of the plant.)

 Cover the entire trench including the tops of the pots with at least two inches of mulch.

 Water them in and keep them watered until they are covered with a blanket of snow. Top up the mulch as it settles.   

Next spring as them temperature begins to warm up, slowly remove the mulch. 

Water regularly once the snow is gone until you are ready to plant them in beds.

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Moving Along

May 17th, 2009

Two weeks after the big move and the ginko biloba is beginning to leaf out and showing every sign of liking its new homw!

Two weeks after the big move and the ginko biloba is beginning to leaf out and showing every sign of liking its new homw!

We have been spending a goodly part of this spring re-arranging the furniture so to speak. Some of our plants have outgrown their living spaces, some have decided they don’t like their neighbours any more while others just need a change of scenery. 

 

The rose garden is in the process being dismantled and re-located to another area where, hopefully, the roses will be much happier. So far, the roses that have made the move seem to like their new home. Before the rest of the roses join them, we have to add on to the garden. That’s this weekend’s task. By next weekend, all of the roses should be moved. That’s the plan.

 

Our most nerve wracking move was relocating our treasured ginko biloba from the water feature to the old rose bed. Keep in mind, we would not have attempted to move the ginko if it was a larger specimen. Read the rest of this entry »

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There’s A Sucker Born Every Minute!

April 13th, 2009

Suckers waiting to be trimmed off a main branch

Suckers waiting to be trimmed off a main branch

 

More correctly, suckers “sprout” every minute.

You may think your tree is filling out quite nicely, but on closer examination, most of the new branches are shooting straight towards the sun. Those are suckers, also referred to as water sprouts. You may even find suckers appearing on the lawn, some several feet away from the main trunk. And they are not good.

Suckers grow rapidly and are rather weak compared to the rest of the branches. You will find them on limbs, around the base of the tree or on the main trunk. Because of their tendency to grow quickly, they rob the rest of the tree of valuable nutrients, weakening the entire tree in the process. Water sprouts that are left to on the tree, put a great deal of weight and pressure on the limb it sprouted from. That weakens the entire limb, inviting cracked bark or breakage. The cracked bark is an open invitation to insects and disease, and a broken limb is a safety hazard. Therefore suckers and water sprouts must be removed while they are still small.

To remove suckers, simply cut them off with sharp pruners or a pruning saw at the base of the sucker. Try a cut as close to the main branch as possible without cutting into that branch. Keep the cut as straight and as small as possible. The larger the cut, the more inner bark is exposed. The more inner bark exposed, the easier it is for diseases and insects to attack your tree.

Removing suckers can actually stimulate the production of even more suckers or water sprouts. Then it becomes a something you will need to do two or three times a year. An application of pruning paste helps curb the appearance of new suckers.

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