This is not the time for major pruning operations
Ann in D.C. writes: “My tree company assures me that pruning evergreens and crepe myrtle in December will not cause the regrowth and possible death over winter you always warn us about. Your recent advice on pruning hollies and evergreens for holiday wreath-making seems to agree, as long as the plants are dormant. How do I know if an evergreen or crepe myrtle is dormant?”
Well, you can be fairly certain that local plants will be dormant in January and February, which are typically the coldest months of the year. December could still be dicey — especially in the heat sink of the city, where plants stay awake later in the season than plants out in the burbs.
More importantly, the correct time to prune crepe myrtle and evergreens is not now or in the dead of winter; it’s in the spring — a few weeks after their new growth appears. That’s when the plants are growing their strongest. It’s also when crepe myrtles most reliably react to a trim with an increased number of summer blooms.
But you can take holiday greens cuttings on Sunday
Last week, I reminded you all that the freshest, most local holiday greens just might be growing right outside your door — but warned you to wait for cold weather to coax the plants asleep before harvesting any. Well, “luck” (in the form of miserably freezing cold weather) is coming our way.
Sunday night should be well below freezing throughout our region, and be followed by cool days and even colder nights — creating the perfect environment to safely take some cuttings from your evergreens, holly and other plants whose prunings make for festive holiday decorations.
Now, this is not a license to go hacking away at all the plants in your landscape; just permission to take some very specific types of cuttings from plants whose branches will get wrapped with ribbon and an ornament to decorate your door or make merry your mantle.
How to harvest holiday greens
The weather will be perfect on Sunday for harvesting cuttings from some of our plants to make really local wreaths, swags and other holiday greens. (Well, it’ll be perfect for the plants; for us, it’ll be lightly miserable …)
So take a close look at your evergreens and hollies (and other plants bearing winter berries), and choose entire branches whose removal will improve the look of the plant. (Or at least not ruin it.)
Do not do any kind of light pruning. Removing less than entire branches could stimulate winter growth, which would be bad.
Use sharp pruners or a bow saw to cut the chosen branches off close to the tree, but not flush to the trunk. The little “collar” where the branch meets the tree must remain on the tree. If a chosen evergreen branch is really long, you should remove it in workable sections. But again, be sure to eventually remove the entire branch
Fireproof your cut Christmas tree
It’s time to repeat our recipe for treating a cut Christmas tree so it won’t drop its last needles on Christmas Eve.
This procedure is even more important this season, as rain was super-scarce in many growing regions at harvest time and most cut trees are going to need a lot of extra hydration.
Step one: Only accept trees with flexible branches and needles. If a branch breaks or the needles seem dry, choose a different tree. A cut tree will never be coaxed into better shape than when you bought it. (Hint, hint: Trees picked out by you and cut fresh at area Christmas tree farms will always be the freshest and last the longest.)
Step Two: Use a bow saw to take a few extra inches off the bottom of the trunk when you get it home. (But don’t remove any extra bark higher up to help the tree fit into a small stand. Get a bigger stand. Or cut off more of the trunk and use the branches on the removed bottom to make holiday greenery.)
Step Three: Sit the freshly cut stump in a big container of water for at least 24 hours, adding water if necessary. If the bucket keeps running dry, keep adding water until the tree is “full.”
Then make sure the tree isn’t placed next to a heating vent when you set it up for display. Keep the water reservoir filled — especially the first week or so when the tree could still be sucking up a gallon a day.
Follow these steps and the tree will be sleek and supple on New Year’s Day. (I wish the same could be said for me!)
On the third day of Christmas,
My true love gave me batting gloves
What gifts would most delight a gardener this holiday season?
- Baseball batting gloves (available year-round at most stores with sporting goods departments and at many sites online) are number one in my book! Really! Unlike almost all traditional gardening gloves, batting gloves are strong, flexible and fit so snug you can dial a cellphone while wearing them. They’re the gloves that gardeners will actually look forward to wearing as opposed to pulling off after five minutes outside.
- Composters made of black recycled plastic (like this soil digester) look very nice in even the most upscale yard while they turn shredded fall leaves and kitchen waste into garden gold. And their locking lid and tough construction make them vermin proof.
- And for those without a yard but still want to recycle their kitchen waste, a stackable worm bin) where red wrigglers (“The Cadillac of worms!”) will turn your old apple cores and lettuce leaves into a finer plant food than mere money can buy!
