Topics include salvias, blueberries, grasses and more
Sacramento County master gardener Pat Schink explains winter pruning of woody sages, aka salvias, in a video available on YouTube. Screen grab from "Pruning Woody Sages," UCCE Master Gardeners of Sacramento County
No need to look far for great gardening advice: The Sacramento County group of master gardeners, not to mention other counties in California, have produced terrific -- and short -- videos on all kinds of topics.
This time of year the A-Number One topic is pruning, of course. Trees, roses, perennials, berry bushes all are dormant and can be pruned.
But pruning a plant you've invested time and money in can be scary to some people. What if it's ruined forever? They fret and then don't do anything. But ignoring pruning may ultimately hurt more than help that plant.
Below are suggestions on videos to watch that will explain the pruning process succinctly. But first, a few plants that should NOT be pruned during winter:
-- Apricot and cherry trees. Pruning cuts on these trees are susceptible infection from a fungus (Eutypa) and bacterial canker diseases that flourish in wet weather. Save those pruning duties for late summer.
-- Citrus trees. Pruning stimulates growth, and new growth is highly susceptible to frost damage. Wait until after harvest (usually April or May, depending on the type).
-- Lilacs, camellias and other spring-flowering shrubs. Easy reason: The risk of cutting off all those flower buds!
Here are my favorite master gardener pruning videos:
-- "Pruning Mature Blueberry Plants." Blueberries are fun to grow, but they can be mysterious to care for. Master gardener Tamara Engel demonstrates the best tools and techniques for thinning the plants before spring growth begins.
-- "Pruning Rosemary." Master gardener Karen Martin explains when and how to cut to keep this popular landscape herb looking great. A "hard pruning" to reshape the plant is recommended annually, usually in early spring, but any dead stems can be removed now. (Hint: Look near ground level for these.)
-- "Pruning Woody Sages." You know those wild-haired salvia plants? This is for them. They do so much better in the summer after a hard pruning in winter. Master gardener Pat Schink covers both growing-season pruning and dormant-season pruning, so bookmark this one for reference later in the year, too.
-- "Pruning Ornamental Grasses." This is a job for the February garden. Pat Schink explains the process for keeping these low-maintenance plants looking their best.
-- "How to Prune a Hybrid Tea Rose." Yolo County master gardener Marcia Nelson covers the basics in just 6 minutes. I also like Sacramento master rosarian Charlotte Owendyk's video, "How to Quickly Prune Roses," filmed for Green Acres and the Sierra Foothills Rose Society.
-- Of course, clean and sharp pruning tools are important to the process. "Sharpening Hand Pruners" is a must-see master gardener video, whatever type of plant will be pruned.
-- Winter pruning of fruit trees. For trees other than apricots and cherries, this is the time to shape deciduous fruit trees. Santa Clara County master gardener Allen Buchinski, in 2021 filmed a long presentation, "Pruning Fruit Trees," that covers many details. The county used to be known for its orchards, and this master gardener group has several fruit tree videos on its YouTube channel.
For more growing info from the UCCE master gardeners of Sacramento County: https://sacmg.ucanr.edu/
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Food in My Back Yard Series
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
March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds
March 4: Potatoes from the garden
Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space
Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting
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Garden Checklist for week of June 15
Make the most of this “average” weather; your garden is growing fast! (So are the weeds!)
* Warm weather brings rapid growth in the vegetable garden, with tomatoes and squash enjoying the heat. Deep-water, then feed with a balanced fertilizer. Bone meal can spur the bloom cycle and help set fruit.
* Generally, tomatoes need deep watering two to three times a week, but don’t let them dry out completely. That can encourage blossom-end rot.
* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.
* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.
* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias. It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.
* Pull weeds before they go to seed.
* Let the grass grow longer. Set the mower blades high to reduce stress on your lawn during summer heat. To cut down on evaporation, water your lawn deeply during the wee hours of the morning, between 2 and 8 a.m.
* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.
* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.
* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.
* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather. It also helps smother weeds.
* Thin grapes on the vine for bigger, better clusters later this summer.
* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.
* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.
* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.
* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.
* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.
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