Over 60 degrees yesterday, and you know how warm it was in the greenhouse over 90 degrees tried to cool it down. But the plants are loving the warm temperature and are growing. Today more cloudy, and not as warm, but still who is going to complain aabout 50 degrees on March 9th in IOWA... Enjoy the weather, because it will change.
Continuing with our pruning information today is on Flowering Trees, Shrubs and Vines
Perhaps the most confusing group of plants, when it comes to pruning times, is flowering trees and shrubs. A general rule of thumb is to prune summer and fall flowering trees and shrubs in the dormant season (late winter / early spring) and to prune spring flowering trees and shrubs soon after their flowers fade. The confusion comes with plants like hydrangeas , roses and clematis; some of these flower in spring, some in summer or fall, some flower repeatedly.
Fruit Trees and Berry Plants
Most fruiting plants need to be pruned while they are dormant. You usually get one chance to set buds for next season’s crop, so particular care is taken with fruit trees and berry plants . Most flowering plants grown for their ornamental value will still give you some sort of show, even if you’ve been lax about regular pruning. Fruit trees and berries will steadily decline unless they are pruned and tended. There are several reasons for this, including: suckers that direct energy away from fruiting branches, older branches susceptibility to diseases and pests and the habit of many fruiting plants to only produce on branches of a certain age. So if you are growing tree fruits or berries to harvest, pruning them should be given high priority.
Check out this website. But there are many on the web that will give you help to do this.
http://modernfarmer.com/2015/02/right-cut/
https://store.extension.iastate.edu/Product/Pruning-and-Training-Fruit-Trees
So till next time, this is Becky Litterer, from Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty, Iowa
