Prepping for Spring

Gardening

Mar 31

Pruning

Late winter/early spring is all about pruning.

Whether you are pruning shrubs or trees, you want to make sure you have a good pair of both loppers and hand pruners. I really like using telescoping loppers because they are so versatile and cut down on how many tools I have to store. Loppers are perfect for those thick branches, and woody stalks, while a good pair of hand pruners will do the lion’s share of the work. Its import to have strong, sharp pruners that are comfortable in your hand. Hand pruners will allow you to both thin the tree or shrub, as well as make more precision cuts. While I only have one pair of loppers, I tend to have multiple pairs of pruners. I’m constantly setting them down and losing them, so I like to have a few backups on hand. Happy spring pruning!

For maintenance pruning, I tend to just use whatever gloves I have on hand, but when pruning roses, it’s a whole other story. Thick but flexible, long sleeve gloves are a must. There is almost nothing worse that getting scraped up by a rose bush, or having a thorn go through your glove. Investing in a high quality rose is 100 percent worth it. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.

I like to give my roses, hydrangeas, and fruit trees a good dose of Orchard Spray/Dormancy Oil in early spring. Dormancy oil is a fabulous prevention against both disease as well as pest. I like to buy the concentrate and apply it with a pump sprayer, but you can buy the ready to use bottle as well. No more aphids or leaf curl for me. This is for late winter and spring application. Do not use after the temps are higher than 85 degrees.