Weird weather of '09.......#6

Judi - I use an electric chain saw - they're small, lightweight & easy. I also use a handsaw, depending on what I'm cutting & the access to it.
Best way is to cut off the bulk of the branch, then complete the pruning with whichever is easiest to use.
Better way is for someone else to do it!

But ONLY if they know what they are doing! Most of the 'pruners' I see in my area think that cutting the arms off of trees is the same as pruning.

Yes - this is of extreme importance!
I do most of the pruning myself, but have hired some jobs out.
I had a Japanese Maple pruned many years ago, and the guy did a terrible job - it ended up weakening the tree, which later expired.

If you have another person to assist you, all the better. If these branches are very large & you have to perform solo, work from the end of the branch towards the trunk, taking pieces off that you can reasonably handle. Takes longer, but cuts down on potential errors.

I have a very large Wisteria to deal with & pruning will take me all day. I will gain sore muscles & peace from having completed the job. I do require dry weather for this type activity, so it's not going to happen today!

I've read a few book about pruning and then checked with the expert next door. I am so lucky to have her around! The dogwood needs to be cut back to near ground level. That will be scary for me! I shall go shopping far a lightweight chain saw - can't believe I am getting my first chain saw at 61. I've had a lot of firsts :) as we all have, but none can beat this!

Judi, those small (12") pruning saws work very quickly, they are very sharp. I love mine.

Just out of curiousity.... why does your dogwood need to be cutback to near ground level? Unless it's one of the shrub types of dogwoods, that's not all that often.

You might also check into something like a reciprocating saw, aka Sawzall. They can cut most anything say 5" in diameter or less without a problem, with the right blades. They're also really easy to use and don't require as much maintanence! However, I love a good saw too!!! hate the bad ones though.

I planted several of the red twig dogwood shrubs - Cornus sanguinea 'Mid Winter Fire'
last year. The deer have kept them trimmed, never did get any foilage. Am I supposed to cut them entirely back to the ground now?

No, not necessarily. I don't cut mine back to the ground. I just prune mine for shape every now and then. But, I've heard that some folks do cut them back to the ground to keep them small and so that the whole bush is entirely new growth. But, it's not something that actually needs to be done for any reason other than looks really.

The point of cutting that type of dogwood back is that the prettiest stems are on the new growth, so it really is about looks. So you get that nice 'winter interest' with the colorful bark. Otherwise, they get fairly large and the stems are not that attractive. Cutting back to ground level each year gives you a lovely form and that beautiful bark. Think of it as a yearly haircut. Cut it back without fear! All the way to the ground! You will love the feeling. Like Kayte says, a peaceful feeling of a job well done. I simply love pruning!
Portland you are fortunate, indeed, to have such a neighbor. When I moved into this house, I had a few years of experience under my belt but nothing like what I needed to work on a property this size. My neighbor across the street was a very experienced gardener of some years who had beautifully landscaped his entire yard. It looked like a picture book. He taught me so much, especially about pruning correctly without ruining the form of the tree. As years went by he would bring me hydrangea shrubs and bulbs from his yard. When he and his wife were finally unable to take care of the property anymore, he gave me many of his very fine English gardening tools. I still use them, including his big gardening cart.
Now another family lives in the house and we are good friends. When they moved in I went over and began teaching them how to care for his garden and make it their own. I still work in their yard frequently, and they always come over to get me to identify this or that and ask about its care. I am helping them to rejuvenate the garden with some fresh plantings in preparation for their son's wedding a year from July.

Pix that is exactly what my neighbor said about the red twig dogwood. And indeed the older stems are not attractive. It has not been cut back for a long long time and needs it desperately. The young stems are a beautiful deep red color. I was going to use the stronger stems to make a tepee for peas but was warned not to since the stems will root wherever they are stuck in the ground. I have so much for the compost pile I haven't even made yet!
You are in essence caring for two gardens - yours and the neighbor across the street. How nice that you were the recipient of the tools from the previous owner. It's always nice to have things with a history. Every time you pick up the tool and feel the handle you can remember your friend.

Guess I'd better take the dog out - she is looking bored since I was reluctant to go walking in the rain this morning. No more procrastinating!

True the new growth is usually prettier, but I only prune mine down a little ways that way I still have plenty of new growth and a decent sized shrub. I don't have many of those!! But, have we figured out whether or not the dogwood in question is a tree or a shrub yet? I would hope that it's a shrub if there's talk of cutting it back that far, but it's better to be safe than sorry!

Ahhhhh good to know that it's a shrub type dogwood! That's good news.

This message was edited Mar 14, 2009 2:04 PM

Well, you're not going to believe this, but we went from, PROBABLY, to SHE'S OURS, to I'm sorry but I have some bad news, we've decided to KEEP THE BOAT!!!! I think we flushed out a RAT as the boat is still being advertised on craigslist in Salt Lake City! DH said, that obviously it wasn't meant to be so we'll just keep looking.
There's a 25' Catalina in Ferndale that we had been corresponding with the owners of. I THOUGHT we had purchased the one in Idaho and had emailed them to let them know so they wouldn't think we were still interested. Now that that deal fell through, I emailed them again hoping that theirs is still for sale. It's very nice too, her name is Charisma.
Am I p@#$%d? YES!!!!

Susan105

Oh, Susan, I'm so sorry about that boat. Hopefully, this one will pan out.

Jan, thank you. I hate to say it but I don't TRUST ANYONE NOW!

Susan105

SOooo Sorry Susan, But thats just not right. If your gonna sell it then sell it, don't put it out there like a carrot in front of a donkeys nose, then take it away. I hate people that do that. Been there. But then again gotta think about this. Maybe is was not the real one for you. Some things happen for a reason, we may not know what at the time. But later, as time goes on.
Hope the other works out for you.
I am not a boat person, do not like being on them. And I ride a ferry every day, but thats something I have to do, but its big enough and I don't get the he pi jeebies. i don't like water. almost drown in my younger days, still have that fear. But give me a 13 hundred pound horse, and I am happy as a clam.

That's just mean that they did that Susan! Inconsiderate and not right. Hopefully this other one works out for you. However, I sort of look at it as that boat must not have been ment for you then.

Thank you ladies, I agree it wasn't meant to be.

Susan105

So sorry that you had to be disappointed. It is better to have a boat that becomes yours in an atmosphere of good will and kind thoughts. I am not a boat owner but there must be a reason people name their boats - kind of like children and pets. I would want to get a boat from someone who has loved and cared for it. Better luck with the next one. :)

Well said Judi! Susan that is so awful, feel so bad for both of you. And I agree with the others it just isn't meant to be. Hopefully the other will work out or another if need be. You'll get your dream boat!

Mortswife..... I can't remember on which thread it was that you had asked me if I knew where Walker was and had seen the little church on the hill. It was either this one or frosty stuff, I think. Well I was by there on Fri. and took a few pictures.

If folks want to see the others of them, I'll post them.

What a pretty little church, love spires.

I think that church just has a ton of character for being what is really a small, simple (design wise) church.

Like the churches used to be.

I accidentally left the esposure too low on these, so they aren't as crisp as they should have been. But, here's a closer view of the spire.

yep, that's for certain. I think that Cheryl said that it was built in 1888. There's also an old cemetery behind it. It just amazes me. You can tell that there were so many intriguing stories, but also so many sad stories due to the times that they were.

This message was edited Mar 14, 2009 8:49 PM

Looking at the detail, you can see all the hard work that went into building that. The older churches were usually built by parishioners and it was a work of love.

definitely.

sorry about the hand, but I absolutely had to block the sun in order for this to turn out.

I'm looking at all the detail under the eaves and around the windows.....incredible.

If you can zoom in on the picture.... look at the rock work and the plantar between the staircases. ahhh... don't worry about that, I'll crop the picture of that and post it in a minute.

So would a sad, but intrigueing (to me anyhow) picture of the cemetary or would that be morbid?

Redchic-thanks for the pics. It hasn't changed in 33 years since we pastored there. Some one broke in when we were there and stole bookends my husband had made out of my son's first cowboy boots. One was recovered under the church. What memories!!

Personally I find cemeteries fascinating, they're like story books, or history. Sis is into geneology, gets some of her best info from cemeteries.

They were stolen and then one was found under the church? How bizarre. Makes you wonder, how? why?

We have some old cemeteries here. We deal with them regularly.

Oh... good Cheryl, I'm glad you're here to fill in with a story or two about the church. I was hoping for that!!!

That's just aweful that someone would break into a church and steel such things. Especially since it's one that very obviously has very little means of support.

the cropped picture.

My uncle built a rock house in Maripose, CA. It looked a lot like that. Beautifully done.

Was the addition to it there when you were Cheryl? At least I think it's an addition. Sure looks like it. It also looks as though it was probably there when you were.

Yes, it was. I think it was built in the early 70s. It is a fellowship hall. We had some mighty good poitlucks there. That's the nfirst time I'd tasted soy beans. They were baked like baked beans. I've loved them ever since.

here's one from the cemetery.

haha.... What a memory about soy beans!

Is that all it said, or all that's left? Sad little thing isn't it?