Autumn is one of the best times of year to plant flowering shrubs, evergreens and trees in southern Illinois. Read more [+]
Autumn is one of the best times of year to plant flowering shrubs, evergreens and trees in southern Illinois. Read more [+]
There’s really not much to do getting your plants ready for winter. But a few easy steps make the difference between plants merely surviving and actually thriving despite the weather. These tips are especially important for newly planted evergreens, trees and shrubs. Read more [+]
Plant breeders are geeks. But they know that many of us want smaller sized versions of our favorite shrubs and plants that bloom all season. Classic shrubs like lilac, hydrangea, butterfly bush, and weigela have been bred to rebloom and stay smaller. Read more [+]
We are often asked “When is the best time to prune a hydrangea?” Confusion surrounds this topic because there are so many different types of hydrangeas. But here’s the important difference and easy instructions. Hydrangeas bloom on either old wood (flowers formed during the previous season or last summer) or new wood (flowers formed on stems that come up during the current season). And here’s the low down on how to prune these two different types:
Method One: For plants that bloom on last year’s wood –flowers formed during the previous season.
This is for Mopheads and Oakleaf hydrangea. Mopheads are the popular plants with large ball-shaped pink or blue flowers. Oakleaf hydrangeas have white flowers and large rough leaves shaped like oak leaves that turn reddish in the fall..
Method Two: For plants that bloom on new wood- flowers formed this season on the new growth.
This is for Smooth hydrangeas that have round, usually white flowers and for the Panicle hydrangeas that have conical flowers.
Many of the newer hydrangeas bloom on both old and new wood, so pruning isn’t such a big deal.And you really never have to prune your hydrangeas at all. But at some point they might just get too big, too floppy or begin blooming poorly. Pruning improves air circulation and sunlight penetration. Spent flowers and dead branches can be removed anytime of the year. Call us for more help or bring in a branch and flower if you need help identifying your hydrangea.
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Late February or early March, is a great time to prune many shrubs and trees. Plants are still dormant, leaves are gone from deciduous plants and it’s easy to see the basic structure of the plant. Pruning is done for several reasons:
Use clean sharp tools and prune on a mild dry day. It’s better to prune lightly and frequently instead of drastically all at once. The goal is to maintain the main stems and branches or the basic structure of the plant.
There are some shrubs, like the popular pink and blue mophead hydrangeas, forsythia and lilac that bloom in spring on old wood or growth from the past summer season. Trimming these plants down in spring would remove their flowers. Butterfly bush, crape myrtle, and spirea all bloom on new wood, or stems that emerge new each spring. So these plants can be pruned hard now to control height and prevent floppiness. Call us if you’re not sure.
By mid to late August most summer blooming shrubs like hydrangeas are finished blooming. Now is a great time to cut back the spent blooms. Any other flowering shrubs that have slowed down, like spirea, weigela, butterfly bush, and crepe myrtle can also be trimmed back about one third of their size.
Trimming to a third of the original plant size encourages healthy new growth. If you’re wanting to control height, you can prune as much as one half the size of your plant. You can also do any major pruning in mid to late winter when the plants are dormant, without leaves and it’s easier to work on them.
Early spring bloomers like forsythia and lilac should be pruned after they bloom. So do not trim these back now as you might remove their spring flowers.
Knock-Out roses can be pruned almost any time of the year. Sometimes it’s easier to tackle these thorny big boys during the winter months when their foliage is gone. Cooler weather also makes this big job more pleasant.
Stop feeding any summer flowering shrubs by late August. Plant growth needs to slow down preparing the shrubs for winter dormancy. Be sure to keep your plants watered through the fall, especially if they are newer plantings.
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