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Gardening Caring for Roses
It's pruning time in the apple orchards along Lake Champlain, a sign that home Gardening Flowers Plant Trees should be sharpening their shears, too. At first sight it would appear that apple trees grow naturally in their characteristic spreading shape with low-hanging, horizontal branches. But appearances are deceiving: Orchardists methodically prune their trees every winter to encourage that growth pattern.
Pruning is a way of manipulating a plant's growth for a specific purpose. For an apple grower, the goal is maximizing fruit production. In your Gardening Caring for Roses, you might want to limit a plant's size, promote flowering or fruiting, create a more pleasing shape, rejuvenate an overgrown plant, or remove branches to allow more sunlight to pass through. How you prune will depend on the type of plant and what you are trying to accomplish.
Many gardeners are reluctant to prune, fearing they'll harm their plants. But pruning a plant correctly can improve its vigor and attractiveness. The keys to pruning are having a goal in mind, then doing your homework so you understand the best technique for each type of Gardening Flowers Plant Trees. You should have a reason for every cut you make. Some plants, such as buddleia, forsythia, and red-twig dogwood, are so vigorous you can cut them down to the ground and they'll regrow. But most other plants prefer a lighter touch.
Many woody plants are best pruned in late winter or early spring, just as buds are beginning to swell. Summer-blooming shrubs fall into this category, including butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii), rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus), and summersweet (Clethra alnifolia). The Gardening Flowers Plant Trees produce many flowers on the current season's wood ("new wood") so by pruning now you'll encourage lots of new growth. Most fruit-bearing trees and shrubs should be pruned in late winter, too, if you're growing them for fruit production rather than their spring flowers.
Spring-blooming shrubs, such as azalea, lilac (Syringa spp.), and mock orange (Philadelphus spp.) are best pruned immediately after flowering. These plants set their flower buds during the previous growing season ("old wood"), so pruning them now will remove the flower buds and you'll sacrifice some of this spring's show. Instead, prune immediately after flowering, so the plant can produce new growth this summer -- and new flower buds -- in time for next year's bloom.
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