Now that the nail-biting drama of Olympic curling is over, we can pivot to gardening.
Daffodils are popping up. The sun is shining longer and warmer. Spring is upon us. Gardeners, there is no time to waste. Sharpen your loppers and clippers to aggressively prune overgrown deciduous shrubs now!
Complete selective plant pruning before the start of spring growth. This will stimulate new growth and deliver more flowers. Start by removing crossing or problematic stems. Follow by eliminating dead, dying, or infected branches. Now your plant is more open and easier to attack.
Next remove older stems leaving the younger, more virile ones. Ha, really? As a gardener entering my seventh decade, I take issue with that premise. Older stems like some of us may have a worn, tired exterior but can still be full of life. So, prune selectively.
Even the young stems will need to be cut back. At first, the plants may be unsightly. If plants are healthy, extensive new growth should start from the remaining stems in spring to fill in.
Top deciduous shrubs to prune in early spring are caryopteris, spirea, abelia, potentilla, butterfly bush, clethra, rose, and callicarpa — an underused purple berried fall showstopper.
Arctic fire red twig dogwood is a four-season rapid grower. Early season pruning will maintain a thick, full plant providing a safe haven for birds. The spring white flowers attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees. The seeds attract wildlife from late spring through winter. It is a compact, deciduous shrub renowned for its brilliant, deep red stems that provide vivid color in winter, standing four feet tall and wide.
It is ideal for small gardens, borders, mass plantings, and rain gardens. And it works well in naturalized settings planted in sun to part shade. Its bright red stems work well when planted with white birches to enliven a winter landscape. It is also known as the most deer-resistant variety.
Rose-of-Sharon with its soft wood is a pleasure to prune. They are hardy and rapid growers. Feel free to prune as you wish, it will come back even more robust. White flowering hydrangeas should be pruned now. Butterfly bushes must be pruned low to ensure they do not become top heavy and topple. Praying mantis favor spirea. First observe the bare branches for their cocoons. If any are seen, then leave those branches until after the mantises have hatched, please. Clip the rest of the shrub by a third.
Roses always deserve special attention, rewarding you with more blooms. After pruning, make sure you clean the beds of fallen leaves and debris to reduce reinfection. Once pruning is complete, it is easier to observe any overwintering scale, mites, and aphids. Spray with horticultural oil or natural Neem oil.
STOP! There is always a caveat — lilacs, viburnum, blue flowering hydrangeas, and forsythia should be pruned after bloom. If pruned now they will not bloom in spring. Of course, you can always cut forsythia branches to force inside for a bright jump on spring.
All of the above plants, pruned or not, will benefit from an early season tonic of fertilizer and Epsom once the soil is loose enough to cultivate. Huh? My plants never complain of achy joints. Epsom salt allows all kinds of plants to take up magnesium quickly. Also, it increases chlorophyll production in plants, improving strength. It stimulates bottom breaks — canes originating at the base of the plant — for dense, lush foliage, larger blossom size, and quantity.
Top dress soil with one tablespoon of Epsom salt per one foot of plant height around the plant. Add complete, slow-release fertilizer as per package instructions. Cultivate into soil and water thoroughly. If you have any Epsom salt left over, reapply a month later.
Early season care and attention will ensure that your garden is off to a great start.
