The Garden Post April, 2004

Pruning, Simple or Complex?
By Christine Tilles

Pruning is complex; however, like most complicated things, it can be simplified by separating it into clear steps.

Why do we prune?
> To achieve the aesthetic form we want a particular houseplant, groundcover, shrub or tree to take.
> To maintain plant health. Remove damaged, dead, diseased and insect infested branches.
> To protect the structure of a plant. Remove crossing, rubbing, weak and overcrowded branches.
>To remove dead flower clusters and developing seed pods. Spring flowering bulbs, rhododendrons and lilacs will flower better the next year if a plant’s energy is not used in the development of seed pods. However, you may want to leave seed pods on certain perennials in the fall to serve as food for birds or for ornamental value.
>To rejuvenate an old plant that no longer produces flowers or fruit as it should. Removing old wood will stimulate the development of new productive branches.
> To increase flowering or fruiting. If a plant has the right soil requirements, correct pH, and is planted in the proper location and still does not flower or fruit as it should. If it’s producing long stem growth, cutting it back should force out side branches that produce flower buds. There may be too many branches growing so closely together that they do not get enough light to produce flower buds. In this case remove excess branches.

Pruning Technique
* Begin with clean sharp tools (figure 1). Before moving from one plant to another, clean the tool with alcohol or a bleach solution (1T bleach to 1gal. water). Wipe the blades of your tools with a clean cloth. Moisten with either of these solutions and then wipe dry. The cut should be made on a slight angle. This will allow the wound to close or heal over the cut surface (figure 2).

* If a branch is ½” in diameter or less and can be comfortably cut with a hand pruner or lopping shear, an undercut is not necessary.

* To cut larger branches, three cuts will be necessary. The first cut is made under the branch 10-12" away from the trunk or outward facing branch or bud. The blade of your tool should cut just a little beyond the bark into the cambium. The next cut should be made on top of the branch 3-4" farther out than the first cut. This cut goes through the branch, severing it. If the weight of the branch causes it to fall before the cut is completed and some of the bark is stripped, the bark will stop tearing at the under cut. The third and final cut can be made close to the trunk or the outward facing branch or bud.

When to prune
() Pruning at the proper time will eliminate damage to the plant and will not interfere with flower or fruit
production (figure 3).
() Shrubs that flower in the spring should be pruned soon after flowering. This provides them with the entire summer to produce new wood for next year’s flowers.
() Plants that flower in mid to late summer on wood produced the same year can be pruned in the spring before growth starts. Fall pruning after flowering also works well on these plants unless they produce a fruit crop that is beneficial to wildlife or has ornamental value. Fall pruning should be done after the plant is dormant. 1

(Footnotes) 1 Pruning Ornamental Plants Circular 235

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SUCCESSION PLANTING
By Doris Stahl

Succession planting is a form of extending the season. The gardener plants, harvests and replants. Along with the use of cold frames, hot caps and floating row covers the harvest can be tripled.
Succession planting stretches the harvest and ensures a continuous supply of food. It is a form of intensive gardening where something is growing all the time, there are never any empty spots in the garden and the spacing is close enough for the leaves of mature plants to just touch each other.

Succession planting requires a garden plan and good soil to support such intensive growth. The garden plan should consider:
)( How much time you have and the size of the garden
)( Family food likes and dislikes
)( The plant/yield ratio (one square foot yields only one cauliflower or twenty some pounds of tomatoes.)
)( The plan should name the succession: peas followed by cucumbers followed by radishes.
)( The plan is actually for three gardens in the same spot: SPRING (cool season vegetables) SUMMER (warm season vegetables) AUTUMN (cool season vegetables) There will be planting overlap in May and June.

Cool season vegetables are: roots, salad greens, spinach, peas, celery, white potatoes and all of the cabbage family, including collards, mustards, kale, kohlrabi. Swiss chard and beets and turnips grown for their “tops” can also be planted now.

Warm season vegetables are: tomatoes, hot and sweet peppers, eggplants, all beans, squash, melons, cucumbers, sweet potatoes and corn, herbs and edible flowers.

In autumn repeat spring vegetables and plant garlic.
Seeds of lettuces, spinach and chard, planted in October will over winter and come up in spring if protected by mulching. A heavy mulch (4-6 inches deep) will protect root vegetables for winter harvest.

~ Plan for perennial crops like asparagus, rhubarb and horseradish, which should be planted on the side of the garden,
so soil preparation doesn’t disturb them. Plant tall crops on the north side of the garden so they won’t shade smaller ones.

~ Read seed packets and catalogues for starting times and planting depths, cultivation practices, time to maturity and nformation on harvesting. Choose varieties which are good for freezing and canning if you plan to put food by. Use early and late varieties of the same plant, like corn or cabbage.
~ Plan to plant beans, lettuces and spinach every two weeks and leave space for this succession.
~ To get even more out of your garden you can plan to interplant fast and slow growing plants in the same space, like radishes and carrots or spinach and peas; interplant small plants next to large, like cantaloupe and corn or spinach and Brussels sprouts; interplant deep and shallow plants like potatoes and cabbage or turnips and lettuce; interplant heavy and light feeders like broccoli and carrots or corn and beans.
~ Choose varieties which mature early, especially for spring and autumn when the weather plays tricks. Spring planted vegetables take longer to mature.
~ Build your soil by adding lots of organic matter, especially compost. Before planting, spread 2" of compost over the entire surface and dig it in. Use also as a side dressing.

Succession planting is an intensive gardening method which is especially good when done in raised beds with rich, loamy, well drained soil. It means planting different crops in the same space, in spring, summer and autumn, planting some in two week intervals so the harvest is stretched. It uses interplanting or intercropping techniques and season extenders to warm the soil in spring and to protect the plants from cold in the autumn.

Try succession planting. It will help you to enjoy greater bounty from your garden for an extended period of time.

Spring	Summer	Fall	Perennial
Brassica rapa ‘Spring’ broccoli raab	Cucurbita pepo ‘Summer Crookneck’ summer squash	Brassica oleracea ‘Chieftain Savoy’ cabbage	Asparagus officinalis ‘Jersey Giant’ asparagus

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Gardener's Events

May 1
Fitzwater 2000 Community Garden Association 1st ever Garden Day Fundraiser including flea market and plant sale.
2040-2044 Fitzwater Street 10 am-2 pm. For more information 215-985-1456.

May 2
Chestnut Hill Garden Festival on Germantown Avenue between Willow Grove Avenue and Bethlehem Pike. 11am to 5pm. For more information call: 215-247-6696.

May 8
Butterflies in the Garden workshop at the Horticultural Center in Fairmount Park. 10am to 12 noon. Presented in cooperation with Valley Forge Audubon Society. Jane Ruffin, speaker. $25 fee; $20 for Valley Forge Audubon members. For more information call: 215-471-2200.

May 15
Compost Training Workshop at New Kensington Garden Center, 1825 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia. 11am to 12:30pm. Free. Participants receive free bin. For more
information call: 215-471-2200.

May 23
White Dog Cafe Community Service Day at the Horticultural Center in Fairmount Park. Installation of edible landscape garden and maintenance of butterfly garden. 10am to 2pm. Lunch provided. Call 215-386-9224X118 to register.

June 5
Gardening for Butterflies workshop at the horticultural Center in Fairmount Park. 10am to 12 noon. Presented in cooperation with Valley Forge Audubon Society. Doris Stahl, speaker. $25 fee; $20 for Valley Forge Audubon members. For more information call: 215-471-2200.

June 12
Community Education Symposium at Cooperative Extension, 4601 Market St. 2nd floor, Philadelphia. 8:30am to 3:45pm. $15 including lunch and supplies.Growing herbs, butterfly gardening, composting and container gardening. For more information call: 215-471-2200.

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MASTER GARDENERS

Master Gardeners are trained volunteers who support our gardening efforts through education. They have been busy with a variety of activities over the past several months. They have worked at the Penn State exhibit of the Flower Show, have been organizing the files in the office and have made many phone calls. New signs for the demonstration Butterfly Garden and a new plan for the demonstration Edible Landscape Garden have been designed by our Master Gardeners. The results of their hard work will be installed by the end of May. These gardens are at the Horticulture Center in Fairmount Park. Look for Master Gardeners in the coming months at community gardens and on NBC10!.

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