Comments on: Wait — what happened to my yard?

By: WannaBee

WannaBee — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:30:35 +0000

I say wait until winter, then the rabbits will gleefully prune everything for you, right to the ground, whilst feeding their never ending hungry stomachs. That’s my plan and I’m sticking to it.

By: Bluebird74

Bluebird74 — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:48:54 +0000

I have a Weigela that is 10 years old. This year it flowered and was pretty, but now I can see a lot of wood and seemingly few leaves. Does this mean I need to completely replace the bush, that it’s tired and worn out? Or do I just need to prune it back hard? When can I prune it?

By: DebW

DebW — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:21:31 +0000

Jan, lilac bushes need to have the old wood cut out at the base leaving new(shorter) shoots to flower next spring, as they flower on the previous years branches. This should be done right after the get done flowering but can be done during the summer also. Once again, do not get carried away, no more than a third of the branches should go. If you are putting a porch over the bush this will be an ongoing process to keep it in check.

By: Jan

Jan — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:34:04 +0000

How do you properly prune lilac bushes? I need the top down by about two feet to allow for a new porch.

By: DebW

DebW — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 23:12:07 +0000

Robin, all fruit trees need to be cut to increase air and light circulation. The shape you are striving to get is like a stemed fruit bowl, open in the middle, lots of air and light can get in. I pruned my moms apple trees this last spring as they have not been dealt with since before my dad died ten years ago. Weed out water sprouts, anything that rubs or crosses, but do not get to carried away, only up to one third of the tree.

By: Robin

Robin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:48:58 +0000

I have 17+ year old plum trees that need to be pruned, any suggestions? +

I am going to cut back shrubs to let my flowers shine through. Thanks for the encouragement.

By: Connie Nelson

Connie Nelson — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:50:09 +0000

Now I’m all revved up to cut back. I’d probably wait a bit on the weigela, though. Mine are still blooming and it’s best to prune them after they’ve bloomed.

By: sparklegirl

sparklegirl — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:26:16 +0000

I felt a little guilty about cutting back my Virginia creeper last week until I saw how much better it looked afterward!

By: Susan Roesler

Susan Roesler — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:12:51 +0000

Pruning back and dead-heading perennials and shrubs also helps increase air circulation. No one wants clouds of mosquitoes, fungus and mushrooms living along with beautiful ornamental plants!

By: bsimon

bsimon — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:00:41 +0000

Good heads-up from Aneesha. I grabbed some on Tuesday; its pretty good, but not great. The stuff I picked up by Lk Nokomis on Wed was similar quality. There were more sticks in the city pile, but more rocks & miscellaneous stuff in the A-Tree pile. The city piles are more shredded this year, like it came out of a totally different machine from the chippy stuff last year & prior.

On plant trimming: I yanked some wild roses this week that were wandering too far afield; I felt a little guilty, but it had to be done.

By: Janet

Janet — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:51:37 +0000

Mememom mentioned weigela - how hard do you cut it back? My mother-in-law has 2 huge ones that have never been pruned and I’d like to do it but not sure how much. They were beautiful when in bloom this year! Thanks.

By: Anneesha

Anneesha — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:49:35 +0000

Does anyone else have Wild Impatiens (a pink-flowered relative of the jewelweed/juicy stemmed “touch me not” plant)?? They have taken over my wild & wooly backyard. They’ll be blooming in a few weeks so I’m hesitating cutting them back. But they’re everywhere! And squirrel-planted sunflowers. And Virginia creeper covering the fence and gates. It’s a jungle!
—-
New mulch source - A-Tree Service at 38th St. & Longfellow in South Mpls. Pretty finely shredded, and free! They say come help yourself whenever the gate’s open.

By: Beth

Beth — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:15:52 +0000

Catmint HAS to be cutback at least twice a summer and I’ve given haircuts to the salvia, silvermound and cranesbill. I hever feel bad giving them a haircut - it looks so much neater too.

By: Sue

Sue — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:44:05 +0000

Ooo, positive reinforcement for my planned cranesbill whacking this weekend. I realized yesterday that I can’t even see my blooming red lilies for all the cranesbill. The lilies are so pretty–they deserve to be seen.

By: Connie Nelson

Connie Nelson — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:26:10 +0000

I do like when I cut back the cranesbill. Of course, I feel guilty as soon as I whack it back to the ground, but it comes back so quickly and the growth is so much more compact . . .until it gets a blowsy again!

By: mememom

mememom — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:17:57 +0000

I’m with Geoff (except about the child spanking)–it feels good to cut back at this time of year. In fact, it makes me feel successful–my garden is growing! Mock orange, lilac, weigela, those darn ferns and my out-of-control Asian willow all look so happy now (well, not the ferns but, really, who cares?).

By: Geoff

Geoff — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:07:00 +0000

Cut away. It doesn’t bother the plants any more than getting a (good) haircut does at the local barber. In fact they’ll feel lighter and faster. Higher root to leaf ratio. It’s good for them.

It’s like deadheading. If you don’t do it, the plant is wasting energy doing things you don’t want it to do. Or think of it like spanking a child.

By: insidemyhead

insidemyhead — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:02:22 +0000

I’m the same way! I often end up just letting them grow wild; it’s a fun way to see the full potential of your plants.