January is prime time to sharpen your skills – and your pruners
The orchard at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center looks quiet in winter, but crucial pruning happens at this time. It will be open to visitors and staffed by master gardeners during Open Garden Day on Jan. 21. Bring questions! Kathy Morrison
OK, gardeners, the holidays are behind us, even if the rain is not. Time to focus for real on winter garden care, especially the pruning of trees, shrubs, berries and roses. (Pruning of grapevines should wait until February.)
Debbie posts frequently here on rose pruning, and will do so again soon. Links to some of her past posts are at the bottom of the page.
The focus in this post is the other types of pruning, a topic that can provoke confusion and anxiety among gardeners: What if I prune my favorite fruit tree wrong? Will the perennial shrub blossom or even grow back properly if it is cut back heavily, as some suggest? What happens if a raspberry bush is left alone and never pruned?
It’s not a good idea to prune anything in the rain, so stick to indoor learning when it’s soggy out. Certainly reading material and videos on the subject abound. Just be sure of the source of the information, and stick with knowledgeable experts as opposed to self-anointed ones – less danger to yourself and the health of your plants.
The UCCE master gardeners in the region are an excellent source of information on pruning. If you’re the type of gardener who prefers in-person workshops, January includes several opportunities to watch and learn. Unless otherwise noted, these events are free and do not require registration:
– Saturday, Jan. 7, 9 a.m. to noon, Open Garden, Sherwood Demonstration Garden, maintained by the El Dorado County master gardeners. With 16 garden areas to peruse, there’s plenty to see and learn. This event is part of the El Dorado group’s First Saturday series, which offers a docent-led tour starting at 9 a.m. sharp. Note: Watch the weather forecast if you hope to attend. The garden will be closed if the chance of rain is 60 percent or more between 9 a.m and noon, or if temperatures below 40 degrees are expected. 6699 Campus Drive, Placerville
– Saturday, Jan. 14, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., “10 Tips for Backyard Orchards,” presented by the Placer County master gardeners. In addition to discussing fruit tree choice and planting, the workshop will discuss pruning tips and care advice. Loomis Library, 6050 Library Drive, Loomis.
– Saturday, Jan. 14, 10 a.m. to noon, “Pruning With Purpose,” presented by the City of Roseville and the Roseville Urban Forest Foundation, covering many types of pruning. Free, but requires registration. A few spots remain as of this writing. Register here for Jan. 14. An evening workshop also will be offered, 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26. Register here for the evening session; many spaces remain. And another Saturday morning class will be offered on Feb. 4.
– Saturday, Jan. 21, 9 a.m. to noon, Open Garden Day at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, the demonstration garden of the Sacramento County master gardeners. The primary focus of this first 2023 Open Garden is pruning, especially in the Orchard, but also in other areas of the FOHC such as the Berry Garden and the Water Efficient Landscape. Ask questions, take notes and gain some pruning courage! 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks.
– Saturday, Jan. 21, 9 a.m. to noon, “Fruit Tree Pruning Demonstration” presented by the El Dorado County master gardeners at their Sherwood Demonstration Garden. 6699 Campus Drive, Placerville.
Here are some of Debbie’s previous posts on pruning roses:
-- December rose care: Start pruning now
-- Late pruning is better than no pruning
-- How do you prune carpet roses?
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Garden Checklist for week of May 12
Get your gardening chores and irrigation done early in the day before temperatures rise.
* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.
* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions. This heat will cause leafy greens and onions to flower; pick them before they bolt.
* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.
* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.
* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.
* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.
* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.
* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.
* Got fruit trees? If you haven't already done so, thin orchard fruit such as apples, peaches, pears, pluots and plums before they grow too heavy, breaking branches or even splitting the tree. Leave the largest fruit on the branch, culling the smaller ones, and allow for 5 to 6 inches (or a hand's worth) between each fruit.
* Thin grape bunches, again leaving about 6 inches between them. For the remaining bunches, prune off the "tail" end, about the bottom third of the bunch, so that the plant's energy is concentrated in the fruit closest to the branch.
* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.
* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.
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