Gardening in North Otago 21st June 2011

The shortest day has been and gone and still there is growth happening here on the coast in North Otago, although I have noticed this week that grass is looking duller, and reacting as it should at this time of the year to the colder days and nights.
The lime sulphur went on the roses in the weekend and this week I started pruning some of my bush roses. Only bushes that lost their leaves some time ago, others that still look a little soft I will leave until well into July.
I am sure further inland it is winter as it should be and rose pruning will be well under way.

If pruning old established rose bushes have a wire brush with you to work on the old gnarled wood which happens in the center of a bush after many years of pruning. Working vigorously with a wire brush will help to stimulate the still active wood below and it may push out new buds, it is worth the effort.
Prune out any inward facing branches at an outward facing bud or swelling to open the bush up then prune back all remaining branches at an out ward facing bud two or three buds from the bottom of the branch depending on the strength of the branch. Remove all weak spindly little branches, they will never produce flowers. Mulch with manure enriched compost but remember to keep it back from the trunk wood of rose bushes as it can cause rot when when the ground is wet for long periods.

The hellebore's (Winter roses) are starting to send up flowers, I removed all the old leaves from mine which really shows the pretty flowers off. There are a lot of hellebore seedlings growing around the main plants, I leave the very small first year ones but dig out and transplant seedlings from year before. These second year seedlings will take another few years to flower and look best in mass plantings. Hellebore's like to be planted in damp soil and semi shade, they do wonderfully well planted around rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas.

My large pile of mulch / compost is going down at last! and the garden is looking tidier covered in mulch ready for the pea straw. I have had the hose out again soaking dry areas before applying mulch, we seem to miss out on the rain that is promised and I notice a few plants are showing signs of being dry. Keep an eye on shallow rooted shrubs like rhododendrons and camellias, they are budding up now so their roots need to be moist and well mulched to stop buds and leaves browning off.

People have been asking me about the pruning of fruit trees, it is confusing to explain unless showing someone so I thought I would give an explanation along with diagrams which I hope will be easy to follow starting with the most planted fruit tree.

How To Prune Apple Trees
First, fruit is produced from shoots which are in their second (or later) year. One of the aims of pruning is to produce a balance (roughly half and half) between side shoots produced this year and side shoots produced last year.

This will provide a crop of apples in the current year and sufficient shoots for next year's crop.

Second, when you prune during winter (while the tree is dormant), this will invigorate the tree, causing it to grow more during the following season. If you prune during summer this will cause the tree to grow less during that growing season. Spring pruning has an effect somewhere between winter and summer pruning.


The first pruning should occur immediately after planting (normally June / July) - make sure you know if you have a one or two year old tree. The examples below show pruning starting at a one year old tree.



PRUNE A ONE YEAR OLD TREE

A one year old tree should be pruned immediately after planting - cut off the top half of the trunk with a sharp pair of secateurs.

Before cutting, make sure that the bottom half contains at least four buds or formed branches. If not, make the cut higher, above the fourth bud.



PRUNE A TWO YEAR OLD TREE

Prune from June / August. The light grey coloured parts of the tree show growth in the previous year, this should not be pruned. The black coloured side shoots should all be pruned by a third - see the thick black lines.

When pruning, cut just above an outward facing bud - this bud will then produce a side shoot in the spring which will grow away from the centre of the tree.


PRUNE A THREE YEAR OLD TREE

Prune from June / August. Pruning is similar to the two-year old tree - the light grey coloured parts of the tree show growth in the previous year, this should not be pruned. The black coloured side shoots should all be pruned by a third.

Always prune to just above an outward facing bud.



PRUNE A FOUR YEAR OLD TREE

Prune from June until August Pruning is the similar to the three-year old tree - the light grey coloured parts of the tree show growth in the previous year, this should not be pruned unless it is diseased. The black coloured side shoots should all be pruned by a third.

Always prune to just above an outward facing bud.




A five year old tree
can be considered mature and the basic shape will have been established. Pruning should consist of keeping the centre of the tree relatively clear of growth, removing all weak or diseased growth and keeping the tree within the space available. Remember that apples will grow on wood produced the previous year, so always leave a good proportion (say 50%) of the previous year's growth.

I hope this is straight forward and helpful. I will write about stone fruit pruning next week.

Cheers, Linda