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2. Time To Prune Or Not? And What?
By Jim Hruskoci, UNL Extension Educator
All the warm weather last week sent many homeowners and gardeners into their yards to walk around and take a look at things. Several questions came into the office last week - it was obvious many gardeners were getting anxious to do some yard work. Probably the most common question I got was about pruning, many asked "Is this a good time to prune? Or, when IS a good time to prune?"
I’ll give you two answers - the short version and the long version. Short version is simple: Prune when ever the ax is sharp. Well, in certain cases that may be true but not in all cases, so I’ll have to give you the long version - and this one is a lot more accurate.
For most trees and shrubs there IS an ideal time to prune them - for health reasons or for aesthetic reasons. And for other trees and shrubs it may not make a great deal of difference - but in general, for these trees and shrubs there are better SEASONS to prune then others.
Ok, now in general - the dormant season is not a bad time to prune many trees and shrubs because you can see the limb structure without the leaves hiding it. You also have much less material to have to dispose of without the leaves. Many tree services might have more time to prune during the dormant season because they are not out spraying trees. The dormant season offers you a fairly long period of time - from about late October to early April.
There ARE, however, some notable exceptions - trees that absolutely should NOT be pruned during the dormant season. These trees are heavy bleeders and will bleed excessively if you prune them from late October through early April.
- Without question DO NOT prune birches, maples and walnut trees during the dormant season
- Among the species of maples we include silver maple, sugar, amur, and Norway.
- A few more species that will leak a lot of sap when pruned dormant include pecan, mulberry and Osage orange.
Now in most cases, the bleeding may appear as though it might cause a lot of damage to the tree. In reality the tree will most likely survive if you happened to forget and prune some of these heavy bleeders during the dormant season. The bleeding is mainly aesthetically objectionable. You don’t want sap dripping onto your patio or cars parked underneath.
Sap will leak most when daytime temperatures climb above freezing during the day, and fall below freezing at night. When temperatures remain above freezing all day long OR, stay below freezing all day long sap will not flow as much. The maple syrup industry makes use of this fact to tap maples during the month of February in the east - during a time when fluctuating temperatures allows for the most sap flow. So when should you prune these heavy bleeders? During the months of May and June after the trees are in full-leaf.
Ok, on to some other pruning examples.... what about fruit trees? Yes, fruit trees should be pruned during the dormant season. Start with apple trees, then pear, but wait until later in the spring for stone fruits like peach, apricot and cherry. Many commercial growers begin pruning apples as early as January since they have a lot to do, but homeowners can start pretty much any time now, such as during February and March. Still its best to wait until temperatures are above 20° F to reduce the chance of winter injury.
Many dormant sprays go on after temperatures reach 50° F and you’ll want to do your pruning before your dormant spraying. This way you avoid spraying branches that will be pruned off later and its easier to do your spraying after branches have been removed to open up the interior of the tree. You should start with the older trees in the orchard and work your way to the younger trees. The older, larger diameter wood of mature trees will tolerate low temperatures more than the smaller diameter wood of young trees.
Ok, how about some of those flowering shrubs that decorate our yards during spring and summer - when should those be pruned? This is an important question, not so much for shrub health reasons as its important for AESTHETIC reasons. First, you need to determine whether your flowering shrub is a SPRING flowering shrub or a SUMMER flowering shrub. Why? Well, spring flowering shrubs form their flowers on last year’s wood, the wood existing on your shrubs right now and that could, potentially, be pruned off right now. Summer flowering shrubs form their flowers on the current, new season’s growth. Growth that will begin and elongate from the wood that exists on your shrub right now.
Adding this all up means that you can prune summer flowering shrubs now, during the dormant season, but DO NOT prune spring flowering shrubs now unless you can live with reduced spring bloom this year.
Finally, the evergreens; when is the best time to prune evergreens? Evergreen shrubs such as juniper are best pruned during the month of June, just as they are putting forth most of the new growth for the season. Yews that you shear on a regular basis can be pruned throughout the summer, but not during the dormant season.
Christmas tree growers shear Scotch and Austrian pine trees during the month of July. They cut into the current season’s growth in hopes of encouraging more dense growth, but for homeowners most pruning will required removing entire limbs all the way back to the trunk. This can be done pretty much any time, but I would prefer late spring to early summer for this. And again, if you have a limb from a pine that is getting in the way of your side walk or driveway, your best bet is usually to remove the entire limb back to the trunk rather than try and prune only half of the limb off.
People ask about the use of paints and pruning sealers to cover the wounds. Research has demonstrated that cut surfaces grow over much better without the use of paints and pruning sealers. So once you have removed your branch, just walk away and do nothing more to the cut surface. Some of the black tar-based pruning sealers were found to heat up in the direct sunlight and burn back the young cambial tissue that was trying to grow over the cut surface, so just leave the cut surface alone to heal on its own.
I hope this at least gives you a place to start with your pruning decisions.
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3. Pruning Raspberries and Grapes
By Kelly Feehan, UNL Extension Educator
Pruning fruit bearing plants is important to fruit production so sharpen your pruners and head out to prune soon. February and March are the most common times for pruning fruits.
Pruning increases fruit production by removing nonbearing wood while encouraging the growth of fruit bearing wood. Pruning also opens up the plant to sunlight and air circulation. Sunlight increases production and air circulation reduces disease.
For raspberries and grapes, it’s important to prune before their buds begin to swell or the buds may be knocked off. It's also important to know what age wood these two plants bear fruit on to know what to prune.
The type of raspberry you have determines what to prune. Everbearing raspberries, such as Heritage, Redwing and Fallgold, can produce a small amount of fruit in early July on last year’s growth and then produce a heavier crop in August on this year’s growth.
If last years growth is removed, the July crop is forfeited; however, the August crop then tends to be much larger. Most growers of everbearing raspberries forego the July crop. This practice actually increases yields and spring pruning is an easier task.
If this is your choice, use pruning loppers, a rotary mower, or other appropriate tool to remove all of the above ground growth. A three to six inch stub is usually left after pruning. In August and early September, the plants will produce fruit on the new growth.
Junebearing raspberries, also know as one-crop types, bear fruit on one year old canes. If these raspberries were cut to the ground now, there would be no fruit this year. Examples include Taylor and Latham raspberries.
For June-bearing raspberries, the only dormant season pruning that may be needed is removal of winter killed cane tips. Small, spindly canes should also be removed; leaving canes with one-half inch diameter or larger. Thinning increases the amount of light and air into the plant which increases fruiting.
Wait until Junebearing raspberries have completed fruiting before doing major pruning. As soon as fruiting is over, remove the canes that produced fruit this year at ground level to make room for new growth that will bear fruit next year.
Grapes are a bit more complicated. They bear fruit on new shoots that grows off of one year old vines. Also, if too much of the one year old vines are left the plant may not be able to support all of the fruit produced and individual clusters may be small or not ripen.
For these reasons, it's important to extensively prune grape vines each spring by removing old wood and last years fruiting wood. The one year old canes or vines, usually pencil size in thickness, need to be left, but pruned to a length that leaves 8 to 10 buds per cane. This will keep plants from producing more clusters than they can support.
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4. Apples & Most Fruit Do Not Come True From Seed
By Jim Hruskoci, UNL Extension Educator
Every so often someone comes into to the office wanting to reproduce a favorite fruit tree planted years ago on the farm, and they want to plant a new one from seed. Unfortunately, apples do not come TRUE from seed. Actually about 1 in every 80,000 apple trees grown from seed is good enough to be considered in the commercial industry. Most of the time, when you plant a tree from seed, you end up with a tree with small or inferior fruit and its nothing at all like the parent. The one exception is peach. Peach seeds often form without crossing - a phenomenon known as apomixis - or seed development without pollination and fertilization. The progeny will end up very similar to the parent when you plant a peach seed.
But such is NOT the case for most other fruits. For most all other fruits you will have to choose vegetative propagation. Vegetative propagation is the only way to insure that the genetics of the parents will be preserved - in other words - that you will get a tree absolutely identical to the parents. Vegetative propagation includes such methods as cuttings - both softwood or hardwood cuttings - whereby you snip a piece of the tree’s branch off and try rooting it in a soil or sand mix in a greenhouse or directly outside in the garden. Hardwood cuttings are taken during the dormant season from the past season’s growth, while softwood cuttings are taken in the spring after growth has started and elongated. Cuttings are a convenient and effective way of propagating many shade trees and ornaments.
In the case of fruit trees like apples, however, most are grafted. Apple trees are actually quite easy to graft , even for beginners. It just so happens that soon it will be time to begin collecting what is known as scion wood, or small branches from existing trees that will be grafted on top of a rootstock. Here is how you do it.
The ideal branches for scion wood are from 1/4- ½ inch in diameter. You can choose existing limbs and branches that grew last year as well as water sprouts that grew from limbs in the tree or suckers that grew from the trunk. The best month to take grafting wood is the month of February. Cut the branches or suckers into lengths about a foot long and store them in your refrigerator at 40- 50° F. Do not put them in the freezer or allow them to freeze, or they will be injured.
Next, decide what rootstock you will graft them onto. This can be a science all in itself. Most apples are grafted onto specially selected rootstocks that lend some sort of characteristic to the overall tree - such as a dwarfing effect or increased winter hardiness. The dwarfing and semi-dwarfing effect comes in handy for those of us with small yards. It can make a tree that would normally grow 25 feet tall, reach a maximum of only 6 to 10 feet. That means you can grow a number of trees in a limited space and have a variety of apple cultivars. Dwarfing and semi-dwarfing rootstocks also allow the tree to fruit earlier, cutting that time down to as little as 3 or 4 years which would normally take up to 7 years. Fruit size remains the same as a standard tree, so you don’t need to worry about getting smaller apples from a dwarf or semi-dwarf tree.
If you are unable to obtain a dwarfing or semi-dwarfing rootstock, which are normally available from specialty commercial fruit nurseries - you may want to play around and try grafting onto crab apple seedlings, or even to existing branches from another apple cultivar in your yard. There is almost no limit to the number of different cultivars you can have grafted onto any particular apple tree in your yard. Just be careful you don’t accidentally prune off the graft when doing your pruning.
We have a publication available at our UNL Extension offices on grafting, so you can pick up a copy the next time you get to your Extension office. You might also be able to find some good references on the subject from the library or on the internet.
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5. Check Germination of Stored Garden Seed Before Buying New
By Jim Hruskoci, UNL Extension Educator
As the growing season draws closer, many gardeners are beginning to think of ordering their new seed supply for the season. But what about all that seed left over from last year? Well, it’s important to first test that seed for viability, or germination rate. Seeds coming directly from the grower to the gardener usually have a tested germination of about 80- 95%, meaning 80 to 95 out of every 100 seeds will germinate under proper conditions. Rates naturally decline as seeds are stored. By testing before you plant, you can determine how many seeds must be sown in order to guarantee a certain number of mature plants.
To test seeds, place 20 to 50 seeds on a moistened paper towel and cover them with a plastic or glass container or another paper towel. The idea is to keep the seeds moist and to protect them from cool, drying drafts.
Lift the container or towel each day in order to air seeds, add water, and check for germination. Wait the average number of days to germination as stated on the package, and preferably one week longer, before counting the results.
Count the number of seeds germinated, then divide by the number you tested to get the germination rate in percentage form. If it is below 60%, consider buying new seed. If it is between 60- 80% just plant the seeds more thickly in order to assure an adequate number of plants.
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6. Forcing Flowering Branches
By Jim Hruskoci, UNL Extension Educators
Almost any spring-flowering tree or shrub can be forced indoors. Anytime after the first of January, remove branches from forsythia, Japanese flowering quince, fruit trees, maples or willows. Branches should be 1 1/2 to 3 feet long. If feasible, cut the branches when temperatures are above or near the freezing mark.
Place the cut ends of the stems in a bucket of water and place the bucket in a well-lighted location with temperatures around 60° F. You can mist the flower buds as they begin to open. Keep the branches in a cool location at night to double or triple the length of time the flower lasts.
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7. Mulch Precautions
By Kelly Feehan, UNL Extension Educator
Mulch is a good thing to place around plants in gardens and landscapes. The list of benefits mulch provides is a long one and includes water conservation, cooler soil temperature, protection of stems from lawn mowers and grass trimmers, and reduced soil erosion and compaction.
As with any good thing, the right mulch needs to be selected and applied correctly to be effective and not cause problems. And, as with most things, there are pros and cons to the different types of mulches and too much of a good thing may not be so good.
Grass clippings are good mulch, especially for vegetable and annual flower gardens. They are readily available, free, and using them as mulch recycles this prolific yard waste. Grass clippings do require some precautions.
Allow grass clippings to dry before placing them around plants. Green grass clippings are high in water and nitrogen and ferment readily. The heat and ammonia released during fermentation can injure or kill plants.
After a lawn is sprayed with a herbicide, wait until the lawn has been mowed at least three times before using the clippings as mulch. Because of their fine texture, grass clippings can mat down and impede water and air movement into and out of the soil so only use a mulch layer one inch deep.
Wood chips are good mulch because their coarse texture allows for sufficient water and air movement into and out of soil. As an organic, they decompose over time to add organic matter to improve soils. This also means they need to be replenished from time to time.
A few precautions are needed with wood mulch. It’s wise not to use wood mulch near the homes foundation. Although it is not believed woodchips draw termites, they may create access for an existing population. As a precaution, keep wood mulch one to two feet away from the home.
Fresh wood chips, like grass clippings from weedy lawns, may contain weed or tree seeds. Bagged wood chips are usually weed free as heat created in the bag during shipping and storage becomes high enough to kill most weed seeds.
Other good organic mulches to use include shredded leaves, pine needles and corn cobs. Sawdust is best avoided since it breaks down slowly, drawing nitrogen away from plants. It also cakes and prevents moisture from infiltrating the soil. If used, sawdust should be aged one year and applied no deeper than one inch.
Of the inorganic mulches, rock mulches tend to increase temperatures around plants creating stress and unseasonable warming in early spring that can lead to frost damage. Light colored rock mulches are reflective and can warm buildings in summer, increasing the cost of air conditioning; and creating glare. It can also be dangerous if lawn mowers pick up and throw the rocks.
Crumb rubber is made from recycled car tires. It is typically used in commercial turf areas with high traffic, such as sports turfs and playgrounds, to reduce soil compaction and improve wear tolerance.
Crumb rubbers use as a landscape mulch is limited and is not recommended. It increases soil temperature which can increase plant stress. It is difficult to remove once applied and it is permanent as it will not decompose.
Landscape fabrics are black, woven fabrics typically used beneath another type of mulch. Their use in the landscape is also discouraged. They can inhibit growth of some types of plants and any soil that accumulates over time on top of the fabric allows weed seeds to germinate. The roots become intermingled in the fabric and cannot be pulled out.
Organic mulch used on top of landscape fabric easily slides off into areas where it is not wanted; and, as organic mulch breaks down, it does not enter the soil but creates an ideal environment for weed seeds to grow on top of and through the fabric.
Again, the benefits of mulch are many and mulch is highly encouraged for use in landscapes and gardens. Weigh the pros and cons of the different types of mulch before deciding which one is best for your landscape.
Source: Mulches for the Home Landscape G95-1257-A
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8. Identification of Turf & Landscape Wildlife Damage
By Stephen VanTassel, UNL Project Coordinator in Distance Education and Wildlife Damage Management
Turf and landscaping are susceptible to damage from a variety of wildlife species. Knowing the cause of the damage is the first step in managing it. This article will provide a brief list of clues to assist you in identifying the species causing the damage. Damage to turf and landscaping occurs in three different zones, “The Below Grass Zone”, “The Grass Zone” and in “The Above Grass Zone.”
The Below Grass Zone
For our purposes, only two species are responsible for damage in the below ground zone. Moles and Pocket Gophers live their lives almost completely under ground. Their tunneling activity, in search of food, result in mounds of dirt being excavated to the surface. These mounds are not only unsightly but also kill plants which find themselves buried beneath the soil.
Fortunately, mole and pocket gopher dirt hills are easily identified. Moles create round hills in contrast to the kidney shaped mound of the pocket gopher. Another key difference is that only moles create surface runs, pocket gophers don’t. You should also be aware that moles are insectivores; pocket gophers are vegetarians. Moles damage grass through separating plant roots from the surrounding soil in their quest for insects and earth worms. Gophers damage turf through eating the plant roots.
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Pocket Gopher Castes left over from winter.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
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Vole Runway. Photo by Stephen Vantassel
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Vole furrows, left after snow melt. Photo by Stephen Vantassel
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The Grass Zone
Damage in this zone normally occurs in three forms, den holes, furrows and divots. This article will only focus on determining the species responsible for the last two as they are more difficult to identify.
Voles are the primary cause of furrows. Voles travel under the grass canopy or in shallow tunnels to avoid predators. Voles will clip the grass, creating trails under a grass canopy. You may also find furrows after the winter snow melt. These are caused by voles continuing to forage beneath the snow as they don’t hibernate
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It is more difficult to identify the cause of divots. Fortunately, however, there are some general guidelines that will help you narrow the list of suspects.
First, pocket gopher mounds are usually destroyed by hungry badgers.
Second, holes dug by skunks and squirrels will be solitary, precise and cleanly dug to a depth around an inch or less. This makes sense as these species are able to precisely locate their food. If you notice broken acorns in the hole, then you can safely assume that squirrels were doing the digging. Skunks will also systematically dig an area free of grubs, returning night after night until the area is essentially grub free.
Third, ask yourself, “When did the damage take place?” If the lawn was perfect when you left that evening only to find it destroyed the next morning, you know that the culprit is nocturnal. Skunks and raccoons are nocturnal. Squirrels and birds are diurnal.
Fourth, raccoon turf damage will be much more extensive as they will roll or shred the turf in search of worms and grubs. Birds, such as crows, can also cause substantial turf damage, but their activity will usually be witnessed during daylight hours.
The Above Grass Zone
Trees and shrubs are frequently eaten by rabbits and deer. Look carefully at the damaged branches. Branches that sustain a clean 45 degree angle cut is a sure sign of rabbit activity. Torn and frayed branches signal the presence of deer. The height of the damage can also be helpful as deer can forage at greater heights than rabbits. Rabbit damage to shrubs can be identified through the gnaw marks which will be ¼ inch wide up to 20 inches off the ground depending on snow level. If woodchucks, also known as groundhogs, reside in your area, consider them as possible culprits if you sustain damage to plants, especially non-woody ones. Chances are you will see them feeding or sunning themselves during daylight hours.
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Deer damage to branch. Note frayed appearancePhoto by Dallas Virchow. |
Rabbit Damage, note the 45 degree angle cut.
Photo by Dallas Virchow |
The reader should remember that this article only provides a starting point for identifying damage caused by wildlife. Animal damage identification is as much an art as it is a science. Readers should continue to learn more about wildlife behavior to improve their knowledge of animal sign.
The Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management, http://wildlifedamage.unl.edu/, is an excellent resource for research based wildlife damage control information. Even better, all the materials are available on the internet at no cost. Better still, you may contact me via e-mail at svantassel2@unl.edu or by phone at 402-472-8961 for additional assistance. I will be glad to help you obtain the information you need to appropriately respond to your wildlife damage control needs.
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9. Plan for Emergencies
By Sharry Nielson, UNL Extension Educator
Emergencies can happen anytime and anywhere. Weather-related, man-made, and natural emergencies, even disasters, have been abundant in the last year. Would your family know what to do in case of emergency at your home?
One of the first things families can do is make a plan. Businesses, schools, and governments all plan for emergencies, but families often wait until after a disaster to think about it.
All family members, even preschoolers, should be involved in planning what to do in the event of an emergency. Keep your discussion at your children’s level, but include:
- Finding safe spots inside and outside the house
- Going over escape routes
- Posting emergency numbers
- Teaching everyone in the family how to call for help and how to use a cell phone
- Practicing – fire drills, tornado drills, flood drills, or whatever your most likely hazard is
When power goes out, country homes are not only without electricity, but often do not have water, heat, or a means of cooking. Emergency or disaster kits should be a must for every household.
Include such things as drinking water (experts suggest a 3-day supply in tightly sealed containers), non-perishable food, changes of clothing, sleeping gear, flashlights, first aid supplies, and other items that may be needed in your area. Start with a basic list, such as those from the American Red Cross or in 4-H or Scout manuals, then tailor it to your family and their needs.
Use a large, new trash container, large plastic bins, or duffle bags to store emergency supplies. Store the kit in a convenient place that everyone in the family knows. Keep individual items in air tight containers. Change stored water and rotate food and medication every six months to keep it fresh. Replace batteries, children’s clothing and other outdated items every year.
No one expects an emergency to happen, but being prepared can help everyone get through it more easily.
For more information about emergency planning, try these sources:
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