Pruning is a topic commonly loaded with anxiety, or mystery, for many. Few winters will have passed without leaving their damaging mark; the last was characterized by high winds. Much spring garden work relates to pruning and fixing up breakage: clearing away windfalls, assessing what has grown too congested, eliminating branches that rub or cross.
For anxious pruners I would advise, “Just do it.” All of us have made horrible cuts at some point, ones we shudder to recall. Use sharp tools! The more you touch your plants, the more you learn about them. You may create something bloomless or lopsided; rarely, though, will you kill. In the course of working with living plants you have their responses as feedback.
On the topic of pruning, the photo shows how a hardy shrub, the wonderfully attractive, spring-blooming Corylopsis spicata, has been pruned into tree form to enhance its setting’s structural layer. (C. spicata’s soft yellow makes a counterpoint, or alternative, to much-used forsythia’s predominance as spring’s major “yellow factor.”)
This plant has been “arborized” by transformative pruning. The multi-stemmed shrub is deliberately thinned to a few main stems; then removing small branchlets from the lower portions of the remaining stems lifts the canopy. Arborizing lets in more air and light where additional growth has impinged on the relationships of the original planting, and creates light and space for low- and intermediate-layer neighbors.
For comparison, a neighboring arboretum specimen of C. spicata has been left to grow in the more spreading habit of the type. Daintier C. pauciflora is also nearby for evaluation: hardy in New England; supplying more of the same primrose yellow as C. spicata; rarely tops five feet by five feet at maturity.
Some adages concerning pruning: “If it blooms before June 21, prune after bloom has finished.” “If it blooms in the latter part of the season, prune before June 21.” And “Growth follows the knife”: Encourage strong growth by pruning hard, and prune lightly to discourage it.
The following is a list of some plants common to Island gardens requiring routine spring pruning: Hedges of privet, inkberry, burning bush, forsythia; Hydrangea macrophylla; H. arborescens; p.g. hydrangea; climbing hydrangea; rose-of-sharon (Hibiscus syriacus); Rosa rugosa; vitex; crape myrtle; (lagerstroemia); potentilla; Montauk daisies; caryopteris; buddleia; autumn-flowering clematis; bright-twigged cornus and salix (by coppicing, cutting almost to the ground); trumpet vine (campsis); boxwood; roses. Clip groundcovers with hedging shears.
Although not a pruning issue, it is sad to see the browned blossoms of early-blooming magnolias. They have been teased into development by springlike winter and blasted by winterlike spring. These apparently early springs have occurred other years. Weather ups and downs confirm the wisdom of forbearance and vigilance not only in this New England climate of ours, but also in the increasingly unstable global one.
Up to a point, careful cultivar selection and siting may lessen the disappointment that accompanies loss of an entire season’s bloom on a garden feature such as a magnolia; but only up to a point, because we cannot predict the range and extent of shifts heading our way.
In the case of magnolias, breeders are hybridizing to produce plants that bloom late, when more settled conditions prevail. Research all purchases of vulnerable or marginal plants carefully, not only at Internet sites that are selling the plant in question but also other references such as periodicals (February 2016 Fine Gardening has a magnolia feature), manuals in libraries, and staff at Polly Hill Arboretum.
As many are aware, the problem of cold shock magnifies as plants come out of dormancy and fully commit, physiologically, to the changes that accompany breaking dormancy or coming into bloom. For some, cold shock that damages or even kills does not require freezing temperatures, but only a sudden drop from one day to the next.
‘Gardening on a Shoestring’
Someone said, on the topic of living sustainably, “The thing is to live a peasant life, but not be a peasant.” Since I am a Depression-era throwback, “Gardening on a Shoestring; 100 Fun Upcycled Garden Projects” (Cool Springs Press), a clever, unpretentious volume by Alex Mitchell, accords with my scavenger mentality and devotion to frugality.
It is becoming clearer every day that ordinary people want to be able to do more things for themselves, despite the ever-increasing siren song of technology, cash addiction, and buying ready-made. Many of them, however, need schooling in ways to get off that merry-go-round and to achieve economical ends.
“Upcycling” is the operative term here. Are you one of the “garden-we-must,” looking longingly at what is priced beyond reach at garden centers and nurseries? Alex Mitchell’s clear layout and inventive and kooky ideas will offer deliverance.
The cheery chapter titles of Mitchell’s book indicate a blithe attitude: “How to be a Shoestring Gardener”; “Pots for a Pittance”; “How Not to Waste Money on Gardening Supplies”;
In short, her straightforward language gives one the benefit of her 10 years of experience as a thrifty grower and gardener. The projects are divided into separate steps and instruct succinctly: “you will need ___”; “when to do it”; “steps to success”; “before you buy.”
I especially appreciate the sections on wormeries; on making your own plant foods with nettles and comfrey, recycling a plastic soda bottle and a jam jar; willow-work (making tepees, arches, tunnels — even playhouses); and her creative repurposing ideas.
Most of Mitchell’s projects include a “savvy tip” or “beg before you buy” note. The book’s weak point is that having been originally published in Britain, the plant and landscape recommendations, although inspiring, may need discerning evaluation in our hardiness zone.