Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
The Braselton News
Page 9A
Winter is best for pruning, shaping trees and shrubs
Winter is the best time to prune
and shape many trees and shrubs
while they are completely dor
mant and unlikely to invite most
insect pests. But, it’s not the best
time to prune those that bloom on
old growth in the spring.
If you prune azaleas, rhododen
drons, most viburnums, forsythia,
and spirea now, you’ll simply get
a shapely plant that won’t bloom
again until the following year.
This also applies to most old
hydrangeas and climbing roses
that develop most of their flow
er buds on second or third year
growth.
You can, on the other hand,
safely prune many shade and
flowering trees that form flow
ers on vigorous new growth. This
includes crepe myrtles, but not
dogwoods and redbuds.
Although how much to prune
has always been a subject of great
debate among experienced gar
deners, I prefer an annual cut
back of no more than a third of
long branches to a more severe
trimming every two or three years.
Wounds heal faster on younger
branches, the pruned specimens
regain a natural look much faster,
and you don’t have to use as
much pruning paint.
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
As a rule, it’s best to use sharp
clippers and loping sheers for
most pruning, unless branches are
just too large for such tools.
In that case, you may need
to use a pruning saw. Chain or
power pole
saws may be
better for larg
er limbs and
for thinning
out crossed
branches to
improve air
circulation
and shape. But unless you use this
equipment regularly and maintain
it properly, it’s probably best to
rent what you need. Dull saws
can often do more damage than
good.
To prevent splitting and splin
tering during this process, it pays
to score limbs in a full circle
before the final cut is made. Also,
take care to make cuts at an
outward sloping angle. This will
prevent rain water from sitting
too long on the wounds and possi
bly resulting in disease problems
before healing is complete.
Although it takes courage to
cut back old established flow
ering shrubs on which many
limbs produce weak growth, a
renewal pruning can work won
ders to restore many specimens.
This involves cutting the entire
shrub back to within a foot of the
ground and dressing the wounds.
If you follow this with a good
application of a balanced fer
tilizer soon after growth begins
to emerge in spring, you can
normally expect a flush of new
growth capable of restoring tired
old shrubs to youthful vigor in less
than two years. When this occurs,
however,
you’ll
want to
thin some
of the new
growth
so that
branches
are less
entangled.
In Virginia, where boxwoods
are common and often reach very
large proportions, I was surprised
to learn that a company there will
thin for free older specimens every
two or three years, just to gain a
quantity of evergreen foliage to
sell to the florist trade. Though at
first skeptical about how well the
boxwoods would fare after a few
years of this, I later concluded
that this process was as good for
the shrubs as it was lucrative for
pruning crews.
POINTS ABOUT PRUNING
It greatly improved air circula
tion and lighting to inner branch
es, and resulted in a much health
ier shrub in spite of the seniority
factor. And with old boxwoods,
this method is far better than
the traditional renewal pruning
recommended for other broadleaf
evergreens. Boxwoods damaged
by errant drivers or other forms of
injury seldom recover well when
cut back too far. And if they do,
this often takes years.
Pruning coniferous evergreens
opens still another chapter in win
ter grooming and individual spe
cies may vary greatly in their
requirements. Harvesting cuttings
for holiday decorations is usu
ally okay, as long as gardeners
exercise restraint. It’s never a
good idea to cut junipers, pines,
and arborvitae back to bare wood
but, for most, reducing the length
of the current year’s growth to
shape the shrubs or to reduce their
height and spread is quite alright.
But, like boxwoods, older spec
imens seldom respond well to a
severe cutback. Yet, unlike box
woods, needled evergreens can
be easily sculpted into topiaries
or evergreen trees by exposing
more of the bare wood inside the
shrubs.
Yet, for many gardeners, attrac
tive pruning techniques of this
nature tend to spur more timidity
than confidence, not unlike open
ing a dog grooming business with
little experience. On the other
hand, there are many “how to”
books on the pruning, and these
often help to alleviate such reluc
tance.
I recommend that you look for
these on your next visit to your
favorite book store, or limit your
winter pruning creativity to some
thing more basic.
Fil Jessee lives in Braselton,
where he works as a freelance
journalist. He is a Georgia
Certified Plant Professional with
experience in ornamental hor
ticulture and landscape design.
Reader questions relating to gar
dening can be sent to Fil at fil-
writes@aol.com.
Gardener’s
Grapevine
with
Fil Jessee
filwrites@aol.com
Genealogical society to meet
Tuesday, Dec. 11 in Winder
The East Georgia Genealogical Society, Inc. will meet Tuesday,
Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. in Winder.
The organization will hold its annual Christmas party. Guests are
asked to bring an appetizer or goodies. Officers will be installed.
Visitors arc welcomed.
The group meets the second Tuesday of each month at the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church is located on Sims
Road.
For more information, visit www.rootsweb.com/~gaeggs/ or e-mail
gaeggs @ yahoo.com.
Class on genealogy offered
The Athens-Clarke County Library will host its final “Getting
Started with Genealogy” session of the year on Tuesday, Dec.
18, from 2-4:30 p.m.
The monthly class is a free, informal session to walk partici
pants through the basics of researching family history. All par
ticipants will receive an information packet to get started. The
class is appropriate for ages 12 and up.
Participants should bring a pencil and paper, and a sweater
or light jacket, as the Heritage Room is known to be chilly.
Participants can stay after the session to begin researching.
No registration is required for the program.
For more information, call the library at 706-613-3650, ext.
350.
CHRISTMAS CANINE
The Braselton News is accepting holiday pet photos for a contest.
Photos will be judged by The Braselton News and Chateau Animal
Hospital, which is offering prizes.
The News offering pet photo contest
Attention animal lovers — do your pets enjoy the holiday season as
much as their owners? If so, we have a photo contest just for them.
The Braselton News will hold a Christmas pet photo contest, spon
sored by Chateau Animal Hospital, located at 2095 Ga. Hwy. 211, Suite
2A, Braselton.
We’re looking for the cutest, wackiest and strangest photos of read
ers’ pets dressed or placed in a holiday theme. Be it a cockatiel in a
Christmas tree or a mastiff under the mistletoe, we want to see your pet
at its holiday best.
Judges from The Braselton News and Chateau Animal Hospital will
choose three winners to print in the Dec. 26 issue of The Braselton
News.
Chateau Animal Hospital will provide the prizes, with the first-place
winner receiving a $75 gift certificate, the second-place winner receiv
ing a $50 gift certificate and the third-place winner receiving a $25 gift
certificate.
RULES OF ENTRY
•Photos may be e-mailed to news@mainstreetnews.com and must con
tain the subject line, “Pet Photo Contest.” Submitting photos by e-mail
is highly preferred.
•Photos may also be delivered to The Braselton News drop box at
Select Brokers in downtown Braselton. Photos can also be dropped off
at MainStreet Newspapers, 33 Lee Street, Jefferson.
•Each entry should include the following information: Pet name,
breed/species, owner name and owner’s contact information, including
city of residence.
•Photos of very poor quality may not be considered for the contest.
Photos should be clear and in focus.
•Photos must be received by Friday, Dec. 14, at noon. Photos will not
be accepted after the deadline.
•Pet owners may only submit one photo per pet and no more than
two pets per owner. Pet owners must reside in Jackson, Barrow, Hall or
Gwinnett counties.
Commerce Schodof Dance ^
Senior & Junior Companies j*
Qtrispms firformm
Mi** )
Featuring
Act 11 Of
The Nutcracker
And also
Rockette’s style
Holiday Tap & OaTz.
Selections
With Special Performances By
The J.C.C.H.S.
Advanced
Choral Ensemble
Have your child’s
holiday portraits
made after the
performance with the
Sugar Plum &
Dew Drop Fairies^
Auditorium
rickets
$6.00
at the door
or
Commerce
School of Dance
706-335-75+3
and
City Tire &
Auto Service
706-335-22.01
Anna- M ? n L H WoS r
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d Victoria V/oo<
December 13 • /:00 p.m.
December \6 • 3:00 p.m.
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Simple wills with durable healthcare
power of attorney $ 100 fee. Normally
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Garner Plumbing
10% off for first time customers
Heavens Best Carpet & Upholstery
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Nationwide Floor and Window
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Mobile showroom -1 come to you!
A New U Fitness Center 4 Women
$25 sign-up fee
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Twin Tigers Karate Academy
Registration Fee Waived ($45 value)
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50 % off fitness consultation
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White Glove Cleaning Service
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Winder-Barrow Brad Akins Branch
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770.867.3400
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