How Not to Fear Pruning

It's almost the end of January and we are experiencing a lovely warm spell which meant temperatures of +4 Celsius here yesterday and rain.  Yes, a fair bit of it too!  Rain on icy streets is not a good combination.  

The sunrises have been vivid in corals, pinks and yellows the last couple of days and I've shed my winter jacket for my fall coat.  I'm coaxing a mandevilla vine back to health after a mealy bug attack and trying to keep my poinsettia alive.  I just can't seem to keep them happy for very long.  The only window with good light is close to the patio door which gets used several times a day for the dogs. As you know, poinsettias do not like drafts nor heat vents.  This site has both. Sigh.

Did you know the daffodils are blooming in Vancouver already?
Spring is just around the corner!!

So not a lot of exciting stuff going on at the moment.  The stores now have spring product and seeds in place.  Muttart Conservatory is featuring a Chinese New Year display which I simply must go to.  My daughter and her boyfriend went on Sunday and stayed for the fireworks which were quite good I'm told.  

How are you spending your January?  Perusing catalogs, placing orders for seeds?  I'm going to check out Greenland Garden Centre for their indoor garden display which should be completed by now.  I've been going there for years just to see their garden.  It's done on a grand scale and it certainly helps to be around plants when the world around you sleeps in a winter induced slumber.

Did you know now is the perfect time to get out in your garden to do some pruning?  Late winter is ideal for this sometimes dreaded chore because the trees are dormant and you can see the structure without the leafy canopy blurring the tree's form.  

How many of you fear pruning?  Are you afraid you'll kill the tree or prevent it from bearing fruit?  Well, you're not alone but thankfully Laura from Garden Answer has created a short video that breaks it down into easy to understand steps that will leave you confident and your trees healthy.  Laura's brief tutorial focuses on fruit trees.  Did you know apples bear fruit on old wood and plums and cherries bear fruit on new wood?  Garden Answer has the info.  Let me know if it helps.

What Can a Mild Winter Mean for Your Plants

Toronto is not the only place experiencing a mild winter for 2015/16.  I was surprised to hear that they had temperatures of +15 Celsius at Christmas time!!  We weren't that mild, in fact at Christmas we were bundled up against -20 Celsius temperatures while we visited the Legislature Grounds.

We had a cold snap around Christmas time and another just a week ago.  But other than that we've really enjoyed a mild winter.  Not warm enough to melt away the snow, but warmer than usual with less than average snowfall.

What does that mean for our gardens come spring?  Well, if you have native plants they should be fine.  Plants that push the zones, however, may be adversely affected as the warm temperatures like what the Toronto area has enjoyed may encourage some growth and blooming.  My son in Vancouver said the daffodils are starting to come up already.

cherry trees in bloom early spring in Vancouver

Fruiting trees and shrubs may produce fewer blossoms, resulting in fewer fruits.  If the blossoms break bud and we have a cold spell again, those blossoms will die from the cold.  That's not to say the plants may not produce flowers again in the spring, but surely there will be fewer of them.  Apple trees will invariably fare better than stone fruits like cherry and plum.

Native plants are resilient and can take irregular weather occurrences without much adverse effects.  If we go from mild to a severe cold snap that could likely cause stress to the plants but is not likely to kill them.  If we go from mild, to really cold and then a really warm spell we can expect worse damage.  However if we get a prolonged cold spell, with temperatures remaining below freezing, our plants stand a much better chance of coming forth in the spring with little damage.

Perennials will typically be ok as most of the plant is underground right now, preferably under some sort of mulch.  Daffodils and tulips may produce a leaf or two but the flower won't be close to forming yet so they should be fine come spring.  Native trees like birch and poplar and maples (where they are native) can handle these conditions quite well.  You may see some tip die back but if they've been watered in well in the fall prior to freeze up, they should be fine.  Evergreens may see some browning.

So what can you do as a gardener?

• Plant native and plant where the plant will grow best.  Plant within your zone.

• Build your soil and keep it healthy by adding compost and other microorganisms that will help break down and rebuild your soil.  Think organic matter.

• Mulch!!  Two to three inches helps insulate against extremes in temperatures.

• Make sure you have good drainage and that the plants you selected are good for their site.  A wet site is generally suited to birch, marsh marigold, mosses, ferns etc. while a dry site is usually conducive to sempervivums, cacti, yucca etc.

• Create a burlap screen around your tender evergreens ie.  cedar and Alberta spruce

The Last is Not the Least - Strathcona County Garden Tour Finale

This placard hangs beside the gate as you enter the back yard.  It's a lovely sentiment along with the chest (that sits in front of the family's shed) seen later in this post.  Both touches of home bring the indoors outside, extending the living area.  

This is the last home we visited on the Strathcona County Garden Tour.  Enjoy.

Sometimes wind chimes are annoyingly tinny but this one isn't.

In the back corner of this photo sits the family's garden shed, in front of which rests the painted chest.

There were a few cherry trees in the back garden.  This one is loaded and they are ripe and ready for eating.  They weren't offered to us though.

Saskatoon bush

As we prepared to leave,  I had to take another photo, this time of the pond above complete with aquatic plants.

Which garden is your favourite?  Which aspects of those I shared did you like best?  I liked the decorative elements; dry stacked wall; the view from the gazebo; the planters that one gardener had everywhere, including by the garbage bins; the garden that seemed to flow into the surrounding aspen forest; the home that makes me think of Tuscany; the raised vegetable gardens; and, of course, the water features!!! (the links to each of the posts appear in grey.  Just hover your mouse over top, click and enjoy.)

I left with a plethora of ideas.  If only I could implement each and every one of them!  Thanks for joining me.  I hope you enjoyed the tour as much as my friend and I did.

http://www.photo-roma.net

Pruning Your Fruit Trees in the Dormant Season

The above video is a good guide about pruning practices for fruit trees.

*One thing this video does not mention is to never remove more than 1/3 of the overall growth during a growing season, to do so causes stress to the tree leaving it susceptible to disease, insect problems and deline in health.