Class with expert tips offered at all locations
The dramatic structure of these fig trees at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is revealed after the leaves are gone. When a deciduous tree is bare in dormancy, it's easy to see its limb structure for pruning. Kathy Morrison
By now, winter weather likely has stripped your deciduous trees and shrubs of all their leaves.
That means it’s pruning time.
Before tackling this task, get some expert advice at free workshops offered by Green Acres Nursery & Supply. At 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 13, Green Acres will host “Garden Talk: Pruning” at all seven of its area locations. No advance registration is necessary.
Learn about the right tools for the right jobs. What’s the difference between bypass and anvil pruners and when should you use either? How do you determine where to make cuts? Why prune now – and when should you wait?
This class tackles all sorts of trees and shrubs. Winter pruning is recommended for many kinds of plants because it’s easier to see the framework of their branches (and pick out the dead wood) when those branches aren’t covered with foliage. The notable exceptions are apricot and cherry trees and spring-flowering shrubs such as lilacs.
“Learn when to prune and discover the right techniques from our pros,” says the host.
There will be plenty of time for questions, too. Got a tricky tree or shrub to prune? Bring photos on your phone.
Green Acres are located in Sacramento, Auburn, Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Folsom, Rocklin and Roseville.
For details and directions: https://idiggreenacres.com/.
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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3
November still offers good weather for fall planting:
* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.
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