Happy Memorial Day! Reminder: this is the final time you'll want to trim back trees & shrubs to desired shape. Locate and find any crossing branches, scraggly or overly long branches, dead wood, or partially dead wood and get rid of it. Keep in mind the kind of overall structure you'll want the plant(s) to carry going forward. Remember This is also the last time to *hard* prune such things as hydrangea paniculata (the full sun "tree" hydrangea). Doing that now at the latest gives the plants time to go through as full as possible of a growth and/or bloom cycle before Fall hits and deciduous plants go dormant in six months.
Some examples of things to prune now:
- wood on hydrangea macrophylla that has not produced any leaves
- rose bushes with unusually long new branches
- roses of sharon (hibiscus syriacus) - desired shape
- any shrub's branches that have become overly "limp" in Spring rains or winds, e.g. weigela branches that bent 180 degrees under bloom weight.
An additional reminder... If tossing branches & twigs over a hillside on your property. Spread them out evenly at the rear of your composting area. Every year or two, shovel recently composted fines (e.g. leaves) overtop of the branches. You will not want to end up with one big stick pile - it is an invitation for large rodents such as groundhogs and other pests that can damage your plants and/or property.
