This video called “How to Prune Your Plants” is worth watching. It’s extremely short at only 1 minute 29 seconds. It’s a great bit of knowledge on a very specific topic in a small amount of time. There are some great close-ups. The woman speaking is very articulate which always makes things easier.
If you watch this video, you will learn that February is the best time to prune shade trees, roses, evergreens, and crepe myrtles. The narrator goes on to elaborate with several pruning tips.
There are three tools to choose from when pruning. If you watch this video, you will get to see which each tool looks like. Hand pruners should be used for small jobs, lofters and tree pruners should be used for large branches, and a pruning saw is needed for branches that are bigger than one inch in diameter.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you can buy pruning tools and never have to care for them. Apparently, tool care is imperative. You must keep pruning tools sharp and clean. You can clean them with steel wool. This is important because dirty pruning tools spread disease among plants. You can disinfect pruning tools with rubbing alcohol.
The best place to make a pruning cut is outside of the branch column. The healing will occur quickly here. It is also important to know that the branch collar is the swollen area of trunk tissue that forms around the base of the branch.
Plants such as Forsythias and Dogwoods should be pruned after they finish blooming. If you prune them before they bloom, then you will end up pruning off spring’s flowers.
The narrator defines good pruning as removal of all crossing, rubbing, or diseased branches. Pruning is extremely important for the crepe myrtle. If the crepe myrtle is not pruned each year, then it will grow more and more flowers on all of the branches.
You should take the short amount of time needed to watch this video. You and your plants will most definitely be rewarded.
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