Seeing as my garden is beginning to Spring to life, I cannot ignore certain tasks which need to be done ASAP, such as pruning this seedless Concord Grape vine. I virtually ignored it for the first two years, but this is it's third Winter and I really need to get it pruned correctly. Mind you, I can never remember the different rules for pruning, so I will consult my many resources, then give it a whirl.
How about you? What is on your pruning To Do List?
I don't even know where to begin (yet!) on this thornless blackberry monstrosity!
Would this help you with the grape?
http://www.wilsonbrosnursery.com/PruningGrapeVines.html
Found this on the Blackberry
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/county/smith/tips/fruitsnuts/thornlessBlackberries.html
Thanks, LG. I've got a book on pruning and those two links correspond pretty well with what my book describes. I'll be outside in the cold wind later today with my book in one hand and the pruners in the other! :)
I live near grape/vine country I have seed many people out in the cold pruning, I like being outside but not cold, But I have been know to step outside in the snow when having a hot flash! ; ^ o
Your fence will look pretty with the grape vine trained on it. Don't forget pictures to show it off this season.
Thanks, Ladygardener. I'll bet that you have beautiful views with all of those grapevines nearby! I'm envious!
I don't mind cold, but I don't like Cold & Windy! This temperature dip today caught me off guard -- I thought that I had heard that today would be the nicer day of the weekend.
Here's a photo from last June when the vine had been in the ground for one year: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=3601990 I will update that thread with new photos this year though. I like watching how things change over time.
This message was edited Mar 9, 2008 3:06 PM
See, I *told* you it was going to get colder. At least it's sunny and warmer today.
Heh -- I thought of you an hour ago, PC, when I was taking my No Joy Seedlings out of their icecube tray and dumping out all of the ice that was in the bottom of it. I hear that it will get downn to 30 again tonight, so they will remain out on the deck to 'kinda sorta wintersow' - kinda.
Nice to know you're thinking of me, even if it is in a painful sort of way ...
heh heh ... wish I could type what I'm thinking right now.
SOL - I, for one, am glad you can't!!!!!
My neglected raspberry patch is at the top of my "to prune" list. Just clearing out the old canes will be a challenge... then I can go back at it, book in hand, and figure out which ones get pruned which way (I have red & black raspberries).
I think one of the pots hanging around on the patio might contain a thornless blackberry from a cutting Wrightie gave me last spring... not only did it root, it actually produced a berry for me! :-) Thanks, Wrightie!
Do pruning blackberries help the taste? We have tons in the back 40, but they taste awful.
Cool, Critter. I'm glad that it worked! I just came in from pruning and I discovered that that same blackberry had "layered" itself over the fence and started a new plant in my neighbor's yard. I may dig that up and stick it in a pot.
PC, what are the oddZ of you getting up here for a visit this year? lol I'll load yer cah up.
Don't know, but Shirley, it cannot *hurt* the taste, eh?
Hope not - got 'em all bush-hogged last fall ... but that would be the only reason I would allow any of them to grow back. At this point, I'm about to do rent-a-goat to keep them all in check.
The odds are getting better all of the time - I need a VACATION.
Well scratch that idea ... I would put you to WORK.
I recently whacked the raspberry canes out in Jan.--I neglected to cut the ones that bore fruit last summer down to the ground. You're supposed to do this right after the harvest, but I didn't this time. Where was I?? Now the beds need to be cleaned and mulched, and the canes thinned. I let them go rampant last summer just so I could cash in on more fruit.
The blackberries won't need pruning this time. I cut them back to the ground last winter and the new vines didn't bear many berries last summer. The Blueberries need some light pruning now to open up the centers a bit and remove deadwood.
I already pruned the roses in late January--next will be the wisteria. I am waiting on those to see if they flower this year. Then, will come all the hydrangeas, perennials and grasses left standing from last fall. Hydrangeas seedheads and rattlebush pods look cool in winter, so I always leave them just for the show.
After he spring flowering shrubs have their shows, there will be more pruning. This goes for the two large pierus shrubs out front (they are about to bloom now, with long panicles of white pearl-like flowers!), azaleas, forsythias, and lilacs. Never a dull moment.
FnF, Regarding cutting the canes to the ground - was that because they are mature and were in need of a Rejuvenation pruning? I'm wondering why you took them back so far?
I, too, am more inclined to leave plants standing for Winter Interest... I just try to be mindful that they not be thugs or invasives with seeds that might get "dropped" where they are not welcome.
Wrightie--Raspberry canes that have born fruit are "ka-put" and are to be cut down to the ground after harvest so that a new fruit-bearing cane will appear next year. I believe this applies to all raspberry types, including fall-bearing gold ones. You can also just mow the canes down after fruiting and harvesting are finished. This ensures there won't be any overwintering bugs in the patch, and you start Spring with healthny new growth.
Okay, if you cut them to the ground just after bearing fruit, then the canes will put on some growth prior to freezing temperatures and dormancy, right?
Maybe this was specific to blackberries (?) but I read that the canes should be pruned to a height of four feet or so at this time of year. Does it make sense that raspberries would be treated differently than black?
I think raspberries generally bear on new canes, and blackberries bear on 1 year old canes. The link above says that pruning the new-last-year blackberry canes to a height of 4 feet over the winter will encourage side shoots ("lateral branches") to form in spring for more fruit production.
Yep, that's what I did with the bb, but I was surprised to read that raspberries are so different. I thought it interesting that Foxie didn't cut all of the rb canes back, only some.
Yes, that's right. Blackberries are just a bit slower, woodier vines. My book says cut the blackberry canes flush to the ground that have fruited; leave those that haven't but tie them up and trim side branches to about 12 to 18 inches, leaving 8 or 9 canes per plant. This will get more blackberries next year.
My book says for summer-bearing raspberries, leave canes that haven't fruited, also. But I found that it doesn't matter so much. I just mow the patch. The fall-bearing raspberries are always plentiful--I always get a bunch of gold berries!!
Raspberries- I have Heritage " fall bearing". I did cut all one year. Worked fine. Then I left some of the fruited ones, which are said to continue fruitng farther down the following spring. Seemed like they all were dead by spring anyway. Besides, the fruits on those side shoots tneded to be down in the foliage lost. This year, I thinned out a lot, and put on a nice layer of manure and rotten wood shreds. Just give me rain...
Now to my new roses--they are leafing out quick.
Knockout roses- I guess I'll take off some tips, shape them up? or should I prune down pretty far???
Sally, do your roses have new growth on them yet? I'm no rose expert, just curious and interested in learning more.
I would love to have some seedless Concord Grapes. If you have a spot to save me some I've love to have a few of your prunings. Not sure when I will get down to pick them. You could have them on your hands for a couple of moths.
Oh, poo, Holly, I pruned them last weekend and tossed the trimmings in with the yard waste, but yes, I absolutely have room to hold them. I will see if I can get a good pruning or two for you!
Thanks, I would love to have some.
Okay. Now. Who has experience with starting grapes from cuttings?
:oP Must. Consult. The Book.
No experience with grapes, but I'd like to try them, too. Just don't know where they'd go.
Sallyg--most roses can be cut back to three major branches--you should do this if your bushes got burned and canes are dead from winter kill. This is usually done in late January or February after they show the evident signs of winterkill and dormancy. This heavy pruning will instigate a lot of new growth when they break dormancy. I would think your roses have begun to grow now, as mine are showing a lot of new green leaves out. So, now you would not want to cut back to a stump of 3 branches, because at this point, if there is another freeze, it could risk really messing up or even killing the bush. so you don't want to take that risk with heavy pruning. Wait till after frost to give it a good shaping job. You should always prune any canes that cross over and rub each other, are touching the ground or growing inward. You can do light pruning on the tips and any dead parts now. Remove any dead leaves on the bush and crossing canes.
Foxy, that's the same guidance that I follow on my shrub rose. Is it safe to assume that most rose types are pruned similarly?
Yes, Wrightie, I think it's "safe." Shrub roses generally have the same pruning requirements, but rugosas, also considered shrub roses, don't need to be cut back like the stump with 3 branches. That usually goes for the newer landscape and hybrid teas types which are cane-killed most of the time. Most shrub types that are called "landscape roses" don't need the butcher's job unless they are severely damaged from winter, or you want to rejuvenate them because of sluggish flowering or growth in the previous year. I think Knock-Outs fall into the "landscape" category. They do benefit from a good heavy pruning every couple of years or so to keep them vigorous and the flowers full. Otherwise, just pinching tips and shaping canes are enough. I think Knock-Outs don't need their flowers deadheaded during the season, but pinching canes at the start of the year encouragesnew buds early on, and infrequent pinching during the summer can keep the party going faster. I see a lot of Knock-Outs around the neighborhood here that look like they need a pinch or two.......
Thanks for the primer on Roses, I was just out looking at mine this morning and wondering about them. I just put in a few climbers last summer. I hope they do well this year.
all hail Foxnfirefly, my new rose guru! That was great concise pruning advice.
If it helps ... I attended a rose "class" a couple of weeks ago. Evidently Knock-Outs like a pretty good trimming, but no more than every 3rd year.
HTH!
I'll take all the help I can get on roses, Pagancat ! I just got mine last fall, so I just did a little haircut today. Hopefully three years is about when they'll threaten to look too big for the spot, and I'll remember to prune.
BTW, I'm 'pruning' the bejeezus out of my old 'Manhattan' Euonymus japonicus hedge this year. Its growing over the neighbors driveway and my daffidils and getting tall. Ive been wanting to cut it way down to renew it.
Well, I gotta say this is about the only info I can offer in that category, so ....!
Sallyg--I'm not a rose guru, just know basics. Pruning is a favorite garden chore of mine. I like starting seeds, planting, pruning and harvesting the crops. I hate weeding, mulching, watering and raking...I tried bonsai on juniper before...am starting some topiary projects this year.
Regarding pruning flowering shrubs in general--important note: you need to consider if it blooms on previous year's growth or current year's--iprevious year's growth means you should not prune it early in the spring, but wait till after it flowers or fruts, then prune it.
Once-blooming roses are pruned after flowering. Many old rambler types are like this.
Sally--are you doing squares or rounded hedges? Good luck with your work!!
