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| Pruning Peach and nectarine trees. |
Some nice warm sun filled days after chilly nights and morns last week as we slipped into June. It was so good to have family with Grandchildren stay over Queens Birthday, almost felt normal again.
Keep the water up as trees and shrubs let you know it's needed, soak rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias and hydrangeas as they most certainly will be needing water during this dry spell, cold nights draw ground moisture, dew up as the ground cools so when rain fall has been minimal shrub and tree roots can go into winter too dry. Roots do not become dormant in the winter as quickly as stems, branches and buds, and roots are less hardy than stems. Moist soil holds more heat than dry soil, so frost penetration will be deeper and soil temperatures colder for sandy or dry soils.
Winter colour: Plant polyanthus, pansies, primulas, snapdragons, wall flower and clandulas for colour, a few poly's in a pot is all that's needed to brighten up any doorway.
Wisterias: Once wisterias have lost leaves prune off all long and unruly canes because if you don't they will entwine themselves around established branches and keep growing thicker each year.
Lawns: Growth should have slowed right down now and lawns will be at the tuffty stage but like here in this garden lawn mowers will still be on the go until the last of the leaves have been picked up. On the coast in early winter there will be still some growth so these lawns would benefit from one last feed. However with lawns being dry right now any lawn food will need to be watered in.
Vegetables: On the coast Sow broad beans, garlic, shallots and rhubarb. Colder areas nothing much can be planted without protection.
Fruit tree pruning:
Apple Trees, after initial shaping of apple trees, the only pruning necessary is the removal of excess twiggy growth. Apple trees usually produce fruit on spurs, short stubby growths attached to main branches. They continue producing on the same spurs for a number of years. Pears and cherry fruit also grow on spurs and require similar treatment. Removal of all tall new growth will keep apple trees in good shape with fruit being produced at picking height.
Peach & Nectarine Trees: These trees flower on new wood made the previous summer, prune hard to encourage new growth otherwise, fruit will be produced further and further out on the branches each year. Flower buds are plump while growth buds are flatter.Plum Trees: Plum trees produce fruit on the same spurs for several years. Once shape has been established, they require little pruning because excessive pruning can over stimulate tree growth at the expense of fruit. Remove vertical branching and water sprouts’ regularly. Look at a tree and it is easy to distinguish the water sprouts from the regular growth they grow straight up from the canopy branches and trunk and are thin and scraggly in appearance. A heavy hand when pruning may increase the number of water sprouts on the tree. When pruning plum trees in the winter only remove 20 percent of the growth from the previous year.
Cheers, Linda
Keep the water up as trees and shrubs let you know it's needed, soak rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias and hydrangeas as they most certainly will be needing water during this dry spell, cold nights draw ground moisture, dew up as the ground cools so when rain fall has been minimal shrub and tree roots can go into winter too dry. Roots do not become dormant in the winter as quickly as stems, branches and buds, and roots are less hardy than stems. Moist soil holds more heat than dry soil, so frost penetration will be deeper and soil temperatures colder for sandy or dry soils.
Winter colour: Plant polyanthus, pansies, primulas, snapdragons, wall flower and clandulas for colour, a few poly's in a pot is all that's needed to brighten up any doorway.
Wisterias: Once wisterias have lost leaves prune off all long and unruly canes because if you don't they will entwine themselves around established branches and keep growing thicker each year.
Lawns: Growth should have slowed right down now and lawns will be at the tuffty stage but like here in this garden lawn mowers will still be on the go until the last of the leaves have been picked up. On the coast in early winter there will be still some growth so these lawns would benefit from one last feed. However with lawns being dry right now any lawn food will need to be watered in.
Vegetables: On the coast Sow broad beans, garlic, shallots and rhubarb. Colder areas nothing much can be planted without protection.
Fruit tree pruning:
Apple Trees, after initial shaping of apple trees, the only pruning necessary is the removal of excess twiggy growth. Apple trees usually produce fruit on spurs, short stubby growths attached to main branches. They continue producing on the same spurs for a number of years. Pears and cherry fruit also grow on spurs and require similar treatment. Removal of all tall new growth will keep apple trees in good shape with fruit being produced at picking height.
Peach & Nectarine Trees: These trees flower on new wood made the previous summer, prune hard to encourage new growth otherwise, fruit will be produced further and further out on the branches each year. Flower buds are plump while growth buds are flatter.Plum Trees: Plum trees produce fruit on the same spurs for several years. Once shape has been established, they require little pruning because excessive pruning can over stimulate tree growth at the expense of fruit. Remove vertical branching and water sprouts’ regularly. Look at a tree and it is easy to distinguish the water sprouts from the regular growth they grow straight up from the canopy branches and trunk and are thin and scraggly in appearance. A heavy hand when pruning may increase the number of water sprouts on the tree. When pruning plum trees in the winter only remove 20 percent of the growth from the previous year.
Cheers, Linda
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| Some of my Grandies who came for the weekend. |
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