Spring Ahead! (for the plants too)

Although I seem to function better on “fall-back” or standard time, it’s always an exciting weekend (yet daunting task) to set all the clocks forward one hour.  I’m pretty confident when I say we are all ready to move into Spring, including Mother Nature.  So while “Mom” cranks up the heat index while we are still officially in Winter, the plants are springing ahead too!

I remember last season being such a banner year for flowering trees and shrubs.  Worthy of note is the incredible six to eight week show put on by Kousa Dogwoods all over the state.  Several customers also mentioned to me how well their Hydrangeas bloomed last year.  Not to mention comments received about a Sweet Mock Orange that NEVER flowered before (although I’d like to think my awesome pruning skills may have contributed), and compliments about flowering Weigela in the same roadside bed.  

So what’s it all attributed to?  Who knows.  I guess you could ask a scientist if you want a detailed answer that will likely put you to sleep.  My take on last year’s flowering success is two factors:

 1.) A heavy snow cover that insulated the plants and their roots

 2.) A relatively normal spring that did not include a late frost

So if we translate that to this year, what should we expect?  Time will tell… or you could ask those scientists if you’ve feeling brave.   The good news about this year’s open winter (lack of snow cover) is that with that came mild temps.  Open winter and extreme cold is a bad situation for our plants. While the plants may be confused a bit if the temperatures fluctuate too much from here on out, I don’t think it will be a major concern with one exception: the aforementioned late frost (insert horror movie scream here). 

Problem beings, if that late frost comes along after these plants have come out of dormancy and the buds have swollen and are ready to break, the flower buds may not survive.  Leading to the most popular question in the world of horticulture…. “Why won’t my Hydrangea flower?”

So, as hopeful as I am that it’s another great year for flowers, I do have my doubts.  I mean, this is New England…. there has to be some price to pay for our mild winter, right?

Winter is for Pruning

Really, it is.   And I’m not just saying that because we don’t have any snow to push.  Why prune deciduous shade and fruit trees in the winter?  Let me count the ways:

1.    With the crown free of leaves, it’s far easier to recognize the structural flaws within the tree.

2.    By pruning during the winter months, your trees are less susceptible to pests and diseases.

3.    Pruning promotes vigorous growth when the spring season begins

A bad pruning job is akin to a bad haircut.  Sure it’ll grow out, but I’m sure most of my lady readers wouldn’t have their husband give them a haircut.  If he doesn’t know how to properly prune a tree, I wouldn’t have him do that either.  While a bad prune job will rarely kill a plant, it can result in undesirable shape, poor structural form, and might leave your neighbors laughing at you for several years.  Ouch.

So what is pruning, and why is it necessary? 

In its most general terms, pruning is the selective removal of parts of a plant.  Why is it necessary?  In the horticultural trade, pruning is exercised for several reasons, including deadwood removal, shaping, improving or maintaining health, preparing plants for transplanting, or increasing quantity and quality of flowers or fruit.  In the general residential landscape, we are generally pruning for overall plant health and shape; increased flowering is generally a bonus side effect.  Fruit trees are in a class of their own, and have their own special pruning requirements to maximize fruit production.

Pruning might be the most misunderstood and improperly performed landscape task by the general homeowner.  With good reason, it's not easy.  With the science of pruning techniques and the special requirements of so many different plants in the landscape, it is difficult for anyone but a highly trained and experienced horticultural professional to posses enough skill, experience, and knowledge to not be dangerous. 

We commonly see pruning being performed at the wrong time of the year, with the wrong tools, with the wrong techniques.  My recommendation to the frugal homeowner is to invest your manpower into a task such as mowing the lawn or mulching the beds, and leave the pruning to a trained professional. 

I could go on and on about the process and techniques of pruning, but it is evident the internet is already bursting with this information (and I’ve already bored the average blog reader enough).  If it’s a chore you really want to take on by yourself, my best advice is to read up on the best practices for your specific plants, and to invest in the proper tools (which likely does not include gas powered hedge trimmers).  If you don’t want to tackle this task on your own, our tools are sharp and ready for action, and spring is around the corner!

Beating the Winter Blahs

We’re nearly half way into January and the Granite State is practically free of snow cover. Well, south of the Notches anyhow. It’s been so ‘warm’ this winter, that the 30’s and low 40’s they’re calling for this week would normally be our January thaw. This year however, you can’t technically have a thaw if you haven’t had a freeze. Just when our irrigation pond was freezing over enough to skate on, the relative heat is back this way. Crazy, and where it goes from here nobody knows. Certainly not the talking heads whose words we hang on each evening at 6:15.

I have a love/hate relationship with winter. I hate its unpredictability. I love the ‘break’ we get from the non-stop action, 100 hour work weeks of the landscape season. I hate the bitter cold, I love skiing. I hate not having baseball to watch, but I love it when the NFL, NBA, and NHL are all rolling at once. I hate plowing for a 36 hour stretch, I love hanging around the house in my sweatpants for the next 2 days drinking coffee and recovering.

This year is a bit different though, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Without the snow, things aren’t the same. There’s a bit more time to pick away at our winter list; equipment maintenance, shop activity, and organizing and streamlining some of our administrative processes for next year – without being interrupted by snow. All of our marketing, sales and advertising plans are also made during the winter, because let’s face it – the time isn’t there in the summer for that stuff (well, hopefully there isn’t).

But I’ve got a minor case of the winter blahs this year. I’m not positive as to why, but here’s my theory: My least favorite time of the year is late Fall before snow blankets the ground. Everything is just so brown and blah. Aside from a few early snowstorms, we’ve been looking at that brown and blah for 3 months or so. What we need is some snow to cover all that up and makes things a bit more picturesque.

In the meantime, what’s a guy to do? Well, while the conditions aren’t exactly perfect, they’re suitable enough to work on a few landscape projects around the house. That should cheer me up, right? I have a waterfall I've been wanting to build for a long time now, it will get me out of the office and away from my computer, and I get to play with rocks and iron for a while…. yes, that will cheer me up.

Although business does go on and we can’t work on it every day, we’ve made some pretty good progress. While this is my first water feature, Dan has some prior experience so he’ll be running the show, and of course will bear all the blame if there is a leak this spring. Good luck, Dan.

Check our our progress on Facebook: Waterfall Photo Portfolio