Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

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 an d Victoria V/oo< December 13 • /:00 p.m. December \6 • 3:00 p.m. Introducing ME©tKEY., FREE From Barrow Regional Medical Center Med-Key is the Card for Healthy Benefits Accelerated Admissions When You Need It...Med-Key Gets You In Fast! Your customized Med-Key card is encoded with your admissions information. When you need medical services from the hospital, simply hand your Med-Key card to the Patient Access Representative to scan and the admissions process is accelerated. Save Money The Healthy Discounts Program offers special savings at local businesses for Med-Key cardholders. Participating merchants are listed below. And It's All FREE! §[h©8© Y@W[f DJa\©(°\°[X©J7 ^lh©8© Y?©© [DmSDT]©m©8 Wo© YSemworGeS Baco Exterminating $100 off termite treatment, $50 annual pest control contract Barberito's 10 % off any purchase (not good with any other coupons) Barefoot Tan $5 off any membership Tanning Salon - tanning beds & spray tans Beau Kaye & Associates Simple wills with durable healthcare power of attorney $ 100 fee. Normally $150 FedUP Shipping 5% off any express or ground shipment Garner Plumbing 10% off for first time customers Heavens Best Carpet & Upholstery 10% discount Nationwide Floor and Window Coverings 10% off all products and installation Mobile showroom -1 come to you! A New U Fitness Center 4 Women $25 sign-up fee North Georgia Eye Care 20% off eyeglass purchase with exam Northwest Exterminating 10% off all services Ouzts Chevrolet Company 10% off parts (except oil changes) Serenity Day Spa 10% off any massage service ServiceMaster 10% off any cleaning service The Sleep Center Free gift wifh purchase ($249.95 minimum purchase) Southern Living at HOME - Misty Mathis $15 off coupon with home or catalog show Top to Bottom Cleaning 10% off first cleaning Twin Tigers Karate Academy Registration Fee Waived ($45 value) Ultimate Best LLC 50 % off fitness consultation (for individuals or groups of up to 4 people) White Glove Cleaning Service 10% off service YMCA of Georgia's Piedmont Winder-Barrow Brad Akins Branch FREE 2 day guest pass with tour 31 6 North Broad Street Winder, Georgia 30680 770.867.3400 www.barrowregional.com \A BARROW Regional Medical Center