Pruning, Containers and Guerillas

Pruning Mission Accomplished

Last weekend, Miss A stopped by our lot to help me with some pruning. After doing the research on butterfly bushes, I took a crack at trimming ours by myself. I think it turned out okay. Here are some “before” and “after” shots.

However, when it came to pruning the dappled willow and a few other multi-stem shrubs, I called Miss A. She has much more experience under her belt with gardening than I do. She patiently walked me through the process, answering my constant questions. Even my cringes when the little handsaw came out were politely tolerated.

Here’s what I learned.

• Keep up on your pruning! Growth neglected last year gave us some difficulty this year. Plus, constant upkeep gives more control over the shaping of the tree or shrub.
• Remove older canes near the base. This was important on the dappled willow since the new canes are usually the shoots that have the prettier, dappled leaves and red bark. In most instances, removing the older canes will lower the overall height of the shrub. Plus, it will thin out the interior of the shrub, allowing more light in and encouraging new growth.
• Afterward, we inspected how the branches of the shrub were growing. In some areas, the branches had crossed. This leads to the branches rubbing together, opening wounds and possibly introducing disease to the shrub. So, I had a few hard choices to make about which branches would stay and which branches would go.
• The next step allows more fine-tuning of the shrubs height and shape. Miss A and I clipped off any winter damage we found and any longer branches seeming out of place. She said this is also the point we could lower the shrub further in height if desired.
• Overall, when pruning a shrub, be sure the cuts are at an angle. The cut should be made between the length of the branch to be removed and the “collar” area where the branch meets the shrub. This area will allow for the cut to properly heal.

Bulbs Sprouting Indoors

Remember the bulbs I had forgotten about and tossed in some containers? Here’s an update.

Three of the five containers have healthy bulbs growing in them. As my better half commented of the other two, “if these haven’t shown activity yet, I’m not sure we’ll be seeing anything from them.” I think I may be leaning toward agreeing with him, though I think I’ll give the containers a bit more time. After all, I’m not in need of the pots right now anyway.

Notes for This Fall

This picture is from Miss A’s cottage garden. My better half expressed genuine affection toward these little guys. Note to self: order snowdrops for next spring.

Guerilla What?!

This is just fantastic. I’ll be looking around on the community boards to see if there is a chapter near us.

Crocus-time Continues
Hoorah! We also have purple AND white in the sidewalk bed.

Garden Envy

My better half and I are residents of Zone 5. Mrs. M and her family are residents of Zone 11. This is what she gets to do in late February.

Beautiful!

Bulbs and Containers

I’ve been reading a lot lately about forcing bulbs. I’d meant to do it about two months ago because I had some bulbs I was not able to plant before winter pounced on Michigan. Bulb forcing seems like a complex ritual involving a delicate balance of temperature and light... and possibly sacrificing a goat. Right now, it seems to me like almost as much work as starting seeds inside. Yes, call me lazy, but I’m just not ready to take that challenge on at this point in my education.

So, I questioned some fellow gardeners this past weekend about what I should do with my bulbs stored away in the bottom drawer of our buffet. Their advice was “Well, if the bulbs are still good, throw them in a pot and put them in a sunny window.” Excellent. I can do that. In fact, I did so tonight. I potted tulips, irises and crocuses. It was amazing what a good mood potting a few bulbs  put me in.

My method? Can “potting with reckless abandon” be considered a method? After searching The Internets for instructions on planting bulbs in containers, I found everyone seems to have their own way of going about the same task. Finally, I combined some common pointers (there were fewer than you’d think) and started in on planting. 

I used handfuls of smaller rocks to line the bottom of my pots to help with drainage. One thing I read over and over is how bulbs do not like to sit in wet soil. Then I added at least two inches of potting soil for the roots. This measurement seemed to be the flexible one in case your pot is a bit larger than you need. Next came snuggling the bulbs together in the pot. Oh yes, no spacing, the little guys are nice and cozy. This is supposed to create a more stunning display. And really, if given the choice, who wouldn’t want to be more stunning? Then I topped the pot off with soil, leaving about an inch from the top of the soil line to the top of the pot. Throughout the process, I made sure to plant the bulbs at the depths suggested on their packaging.

Are the bulbs good? I think so. I found I was correct in keeping them in a dark place. However, the buffet in our dining room was too warm. The bulbs had started sprouting. They weren't waiting on the lazy wanna-be gardener that had stuck them in the drawer last fall and forgot about them until a few weeks ago. In the future, I’ll store bulbs in the basement. We don’t heat the room down there, so it’ll be a dark, cool environment for the them.

Tomorrow I’ll bring out the plant stands and set the pots in the front window on the south side of the house. We’ll see what happens. Hmm... could that be my gardening theme for this year?