January is prime time to sharpen your skills – and your pruners
The orchard at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center looks quiet in winter, but crucial pruning happens at this time. It will be open to visitors and staffed by master gardeners during Open Garden Day on Jan. 21. Bring questions! Kathy Morrison
OK, gardeners, the holidays are behind us, even if the rain is not. Time to focus for real on winter garden care, especially the pruning of trees, shrubs, berries and roses. (Pruning of grapevines should wait until February.)
Debbie posts frequently here on rose pruning, and will do so again soon. Links to some of her past posts are at the bottom of the page.
The focus in this post is the other types of pruning, a topic that can provoke confusion and anxiety among gardeners: What if I prune my favorite fruit tree wrong? Will the perennial shrub blossom or even grow back properly if it is cut back heavily, as some suggest? What happens if a raspberry bush is left alone and never pruned?
It’s not a good idea to prune anything in the rain, so stick to indoor learning when it’s soggy out. Certainly reading material and videos on the subject abound. Just be sure of the source of the information, and stick with knowledgeable experts as opposed to self-anointed ones – less danger to yourself and the health of your plants.
The UCCE master gardeners in the region are an excellent source of information on pruning. If you’re the type of gardener who prefers in-person workshops, January includes several opportunities to watch and learn. Unless otherwise noted, these events are free and do not require registration:
– Saturday, Jan. 7, 9 a.m. to noon, Open Garden, Sherwood Demonstration Garden, maintained by the El Dorado County master gardeners. With 16 garden areas to peruse, there’s plenty to see and learn. This event is part of the El Dorado group’s First Saturday series, which offers a docent-led tour starting at 9 a.m. sharp. Note: Watch the weather forecast if you hope to attend. The garden will be closed if the chance of rain is 60 percent or more between 9 a.m and noon, or if temperatures below 40 degrees are expected. 6699 Campus Drive, Placerville
– Saturday, Jan. 14, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., “10 Tips for Backyard Orchards,” presented by the Placer County master gardeners. In addition to discussing fruit tree choice and planting, the workshop will discuss pruning tips and care advice. Loomis Library, 6050 Library Drive, Loomis.
– Saturday, Jan. 14, 10 a.m. to noon, “Pruning With Purpose,” presented by the City of Roseville and the Roseville Urban Forest Foundation, covering many types of pruning. Free, but requires registration. A few spots remain as of this writing. Register here for Jan. 14. An evening workshop also will be offered, 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26. Register here for the evening session; many spaces remain. And another Saturday morning class will be offered on Feb. 4.
– Saturday, Jan. 21, 9 a.m. to noon, Open Garden Day at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, the demonstration garden of the Sacramento County master gardeners. The primary focus of this first 2023 Open Garden is pruning, especially in the Orchard, but also in other areas of the FOHC such as the Berry Garden and the Water Efficient Landscape. Ask questions, take notes and gain some pruning courage! 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks.
– Saturday, Jan. 21, 9 a.m. to noon, “Fruit Tree Pruning Demonstration” presented by the El Dorado County master gardeners at their Sherwood Demonstration Garden. 6699 Campus Drive, Placerville.
Here are some of Debbie’s previous posts on pruning roses:
-- December rose care: Start pruning now
-- Late pruning is better than no pruning
-- How do you prune carpet roses?
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Flowers in My Back Yard Series
July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show
July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)
July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy
July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies
June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden
June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners
June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)
June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself
June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude
May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?
May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs
May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power
May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens
May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend
April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look
April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower
April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact
April 7: Calendulas do double duty
April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come
March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)
March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots
March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums
March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come
March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy
Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?
Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come
Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers
Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses
Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?
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Garden checklist for week of Aug. 2
Get out early in the morning and monitor your garden’s moisture needs. Deep water and add temporary shade structures for plants that are feeling a little burned. In particular, protect developing peppers and eggplant.
* Put off fertilization until this heat passes; plants need to concentrate on hydration instead of growth.
* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers.
* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.
* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don’t let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.
* Pinch off dead flowers from perennials and annuals to lengthen their summer bloom.
* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot.
* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.
* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.
* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.
* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips. Make sure to keep seeds and seedlings consistently moist.
* Plant potatoes.
Contact Us
Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com
Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series
Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening
WINTER
Is edible gardening possible indoors?
Hints for choosing tomato seeds
Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees
When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
How to squeeze more food into less space
Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Win the weed war by tackling them in winter
Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables
Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
Ways to win the fight against weeds
FALL
Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden
Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it
Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come
Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying
Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?
Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden
Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden
Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers
Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air
Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets
Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty
Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?
Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest
SUMMER
Sept. 16: Time to shut it down?
Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch
Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning
Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?
Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you
Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water
Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers
July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?
July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty
July 15: Does this plant need water?
July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions
July 1: How to grow summer salad greens
June 24: Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
SPRING
June 17: Help pollinators help your garden
June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests
June 3: Make your own compost
May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?
May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
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