My roses are awakening, and leaf buds are beginning to emerge along their stems. Dead stems should be pruned back now so that they can begin to develop again and prepare for the summer. Now is the moment to shape your roses so they maintain their previous aesthetic appeal.
Roses were a fussy flower when I was a boy. In June, when all the roses were in bloom, my parents purchased a rural home. I suppose those roses played a part in sealing the deal. But in a short while, they vanished. They had been destroyed by diseases, pests, and beetles. Many of those roses relied on poisonous sprays even though we didn’t use any dangerous chemicals to fertilize them, I assume.
Now, breeders have developed roses that rarely develop black spot and don’t have strong floral scents that attract rose chafers and Japanese beetles. Even though Japanese beetles occasionally discover my flamboyant pink or crimson petals, I simply pick them off and submerge them in soapy water or crush them.
My preferred rose varieties are the “Outstanding roses. June marks the beginning of their flowering period, which lasts until the first heavy frost. My plants frequently blossom during the Halloween season. Ask at your neighborhood, family-run garden center if there are any alternatives that are likely to be equally as good.” Another of my favorites is At Last, a Proven Winner rose, in part because it has a mild fragrance as well. I recently went outside with my pruning shears on a lovely afternoon to trim my roses. It had been a very hard winter, so many stems were dead at the tops, and several canes were dead all the way down.
I gave the rose stems my undivided attention. To the uppermost bud that was externally facing, active, and alive, I wanted to eliminate the dead material. I hunted for life’s first indications, which were buds that were beginning to sprout leaves. Live stems are typically green or reddish, while dead stems are typically brown.
How do you cut your hair? Just a little bit above a bud, at an angle. Examine the portion you removed. You are looking at dead wood if it is completely brown. Once you notice a layer of green just below the bark, you should cut further down the stem.
You might want to prune back some stems past the first green bud if they grew more strongly than the others last year. I want a plant that is well-balanced, not one that is asymmetrical or has a really tall leader. Some rosarians (rose-obsessed gardeners) like to prune the majority of stems to within 6 inches of the ground and let the entire bush to re-grow each year from the base.
On ancient wood rather than new growth, certain roses blossom. This is how rugosa or beach roses grow, as well as some old-fashioned roses that bloom only sometimes. Dead wood can be removed right away, but it’s better to prune those to maintain the bush’s shape after blooming.
This summer, you should remove any faded blooms. Cut the stem back to a mature leaf cluster with five to seven leaves once it has bloomed. Reducing the rose’s growth to clusters of just three leaves will not encourage it to bloom again. Let’s talk about fertilization. I dislike fertilizing roses because it makes them grow too quickly. Fast growth is frequently fragile, with flopping stems. If you do decide to fertilize, wait until after the first flush of blossoms rather than right now. The Knockouts and other reblooming roses typically bloom once every five to six weeks.
I freely admit that I am slack at cutting back my PeeGee hydrangea, so this year I gave it a nice, hard trim. When the plant is still dormant or just waking up is the ideal time to perform. I pruned the flowering branches from the previous year back to the larger, older stalks. Pruning now will encourage new growth and an abundance of blossoms because these hydrangeas bloom on fresh wood. The PeeGee is a shrub, but if you don’t prune it, it could grow excessively tall and wide.
Some stems will be dead near their tips when you prune them. Trim those till you can see some green underneath the bark. That suggests that there is life there. Just like with roses, always prune back to a larger branch or just above a bud.
Remove any branches that are spindly, weak, or that point back toward the plant’s center. Cut back any branches that could potentially prick someone in the eye.
Don’t be afraid to give your hydrangeas a severe pruning. Choose the plant size that will fit your available space the best, and then prune it until it is the perfect size. Pruning won’t cause your plant to die. More sunlight can reach the leaves of a shrub when the middle is opened up, assisting in the prevention of fungus.
You might want to postpone pruning lilacs until after their upcoming bloom, as they will do so shortly. Pruning now only reduces the number of flowers you will have this spring. However, you may help your lilacs have better blossoms the next year by around them with some limestone or wood ashes. Limestone aids in creating the neutral or slightly alkaline soil that lilacs prefer.
To me, pruning is similar to sculpture. If it’s done right, the result is a plant that is stunning even when it’s not in bloom.
Are lilac plants able to grow in fireplace ashes?
The Walrus declared that “the time has come to speak of many things,” including “wood ash and lilacs and how the blooms to bring…”
Q. I recently overheard you explain that lilacs, like azaleas, need acidic soil. I was interested in where you got your facts and information on this. Many of us invest a lot of time, money, and energy into attempting to make our plants flourish and have successful, long lives. It is crucial that the information we receive from individuals who claim to be experts is reliable and accurate. We anticipate going into further detail on this subject.
A. Oof
I feel like I’m back in elementary school, when the teacher just dragged me by the ear to the front of the classroom. Tom, though, poses a reasonable query. He is making reference to a caller called Jack from State College, Pennsylvania who asked about utilizing wood burner ashes to fertilize lilacs. Many people who burn wood constantly hope to use the ash they produce on their gardens and landscaping.
“Just because you have a lot of something doesn’t mean it’s good for your plants,” I almost weekly caution, “despite that.” (Hey! The next Public Radio Pledge Drive mug can feature that! A tomato plant with Xs over its eyes and a photo of someone who recently turned a large pile of wood chips into their garden!)
Jack, like many others, had heard that wood ash was beneficial for lilacs. You have to be careful with wood as it’s highly alkaline, and most plants like acidic to neutral soil, is what I should have said instead. However, if I had only spoken politely, my act would have ended fourteen years ago. Therefore, I decided to go out on the extremely long and spindly limb that “lilacs want acidic soil.”
While I received Tom’s email, I examined a sizable piece on lilacs that we had published in ORGANIC GARDENING magazine when I was the editor. Back then, our research team thoroughly fact-checked everything in the magazine. And the article says that lilacs should have a pH between 7 and (gasp!) 8…
A small amount of ash would almost probably be useful if your soil is acidic. No, though, if your soil is already alkaline, as it is in Oklahoma, some regions of the West Coast, and other places with less rainfall.
Because of that exception, I’d want to be able to argue that I was at least “half right,” but the call came from Pennsylvania, where acid soil is the norm. In addition, lilacs typically don’t thrive in hotter climates, which may explain why a guy from the Carolinas would pay particular attention when the subject was brought up.
Therefore, if Tom does have struggling lilacs in North Carolina, here is my suggestion to him—and really to everyone—that I am not making this up off the top of my head this time; I just read (and re-read) a fact-checked and really informative lilac article.
First of all, practice patience. Lilacs often need four or five seasons in the ground before they truly begin to bloom effectively. But because lilacs have such a long lifespan, it’s a wise investment.
Yes, test the pH of the soil if your lilac is established and you believe you aren’t receiving enough flowers. If necessary, add wood ash or lime if the pH is low.
But until the plant also receives a lot of sunlight, you won’t get really excellent blossoms. A lilac plant I own produced enough blossoms every season to pay for itself after taking the normal three or four years to get started. It was then covered in blossoms every Spring starting around year ten, I think because it had grown big enough to avoid being shaded by other plants around and receive full light all day.
However, the majority of experts caution that lilacs in the South typically never bloom as well as those in the North. The majority of lilacs are classified as winter-hardy all the way down to USDA Growing Zones 3 and 4. Lilacs also thrive in those chilly winter conditions, not just endure them. The likelihood of the plant producing abundant blooms increases with the number of winter freezes it experiences.
However, it doesn’t follow that those in the South shouldn’t give it a shot. The basic plant should survive exceptionally hot summers with the help of measures like a little midday shade and extra watering. As some kinds are reported to have reduced “cooling requirements” and perform better in zones 7 and higher, picking the proper type at the beginning may also help you enjoy a decent number of blooms. The best place to go for that kind of genuinely local information is always your local Extension Service, so I’d ask them for advice on specific varieties.
And no matter where you live, be sure to only prune lilacs in the Spring after the flowers have faded because lilacs form the buds for the following year extremely early in the season. Remove entire branches off the plant to enhance airflow if mildew is a problem. If not, simply cut off as many of the faded flower heads as you can; this practice of “deadheading” promotes better blooming the next Spring.
The same goes for keeping the soil slightly alkaline. Regards, Tom. I’ll try to keep that in mind moving forward.
How can wood ash affect hydrangeas?
Pink hydrangea blossoms require soil that is alkaline and at least pH 7.0. You can work in ground or powdered limestone or wood ash to make the soil more alkaline.
Which plants are ash-loving?
Good-quality wood ashes can be an added benefit for gardeners who use stoves or fireplaces to heat their houses throughout the winter. They can, however, be a caustic topping for seedlings and plants with lots of foliage if they are applied incorrectly.
According to Leonard Perry, horticulture professor emeritus at the University of Vermont, the main advantages of recycling wood ash into the soil are for fertilizing and boosting pH levels to make soil less acidic.
On a scale of 1 to 14, with 7 representing neutrality, the acidity of soil is measured. Any number less than 7 is considered acidic. Alkaline is defined as anything higher.
“According to Perry’s information sheet, this means that you shouldn’t add soil ashes to soil that is 6.5 to 7 or higher.
“According to Julia Gaskin, a land application specialist with the University of Georgia Extension Service, too high a pH will bind up micronutrients that your crops need. ” When starting a new garden, test the soil every year until the fertility and soil organic matter are optimal. After that, you can test roughly every other year.
A dozen or more essential elements can be found in wood ash, including calcium, magnesium, and potassium “According to Gaskin, they vary greatly depending on the kind of tree being burned.
Hardwoods burn hotter and for a longer period of time, including oak, maple, ash, hickory, sycamore, walnut, apple, and cherry. In addition, they contain more nutrients and produce many times more ash than softwoods like pine and fir.
Use of fireplace or wood ashes from pressure-treated, painted, and cardboard should be avoided. They carry substances that may be harmful to plants. The same holds true for leftover coal, fake fireplace logs, and BBQ grill charcoal. They should be dumped in the landfill.
Wood ash can be added sparingly to compost piles, thinly distributed over lawns, and utilized in gardening.
According to Perry, wood ash 10 to 15 pounds per 1,000 square feet is beneficial for lawns that need potassium and lime. “He stated that this is the potential yield from a cord of firewood.
The level of acidity in compost piles is kept close to neutral by applying wood ash “As you construct the pile, sprinkle some over each layer of compost, advised Perry. “Another choice is to dry store wood ashes and use them to prepare a “tea” that may be used to irrigate plants and provide some nutrients throughout the growing season.
If you’re about to plant seeds in your garden, Alicia Lamborn, a horticulture with the University of Florida Extension, advises against using wood ashes.
“According to Lamborn, if you wish to use wood ash as a pH source, you should do so three to six months prior to planting. ” Work time is required to incorporate it into the soil. A chemical transformation is required. Before you plant any plants, you need take care of that beforehand.
Some individuals keep the ash they remove from their stoves in the winter for use all year round. “Lamborn advised against piling it on all at once or just once a season.
Avoid scattering ashes near acid-loving plants including parsley, holly, potatoes, azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias, azaleas, and strawberries. Garlic, chives, leeks, lettuces, asparagus, and stone fruit trees all grow well when treated with wood ash.
Online:
Which fertilizer is ideal for lilac trees?
Lilac plants don’t require a lot of food or fertilizer. A 10-10-10 fertilizer mixture applied yearly in the early spring is what we advise. (The amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, or NPK as they are popularly known, are represented by the digits 10-10-10 in the formula.) Early spring fertilization of lilacs with a high phosphorus solution encourages blossoming.
Coffee grounds and grass clippings are also excellent sources of nitrogen. Use in moderation since an excess of nitrogen in the soil can lead to subpar blooms. The ideal soil conditions for lilacs are slightly alkaline (6.5–7.0 pH), wet, and well-drained. The soil may become more alkaline by adding bone meal to it. Use Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed Flowering Trees & Shrubs Plant Food in the spring if you decide to feed your plant. Last but not least, lilac plants dislike acidic soil. Epsom salts can be used to encourage blossoming while the plant is dormant.