Home Gardener's Pruning (UK Only). David Squire
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Название: Home Gardener's Pruning (UK Only)
Автор: David Squire
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Сад и Огород
Серия: Specialist Guide
isbn: 9781607652434
isbn:
• Store equipment in an airy, waterproof shed. If it is slightly damp, wrap small tools in a dry cloth and place in a plastic bag.
GETTING A GRIP
Before buying a gardening tool, always handle it to ensure that it feels right for you. Pruning tools – especially garden shears – should be comfortable to hold and easy to use. If too large for your hand, it is difficult to put the desired pressure on the handles. If too small, there is a chance of fingers being pinched when handles are closed.
Check loppers to ensure that the handles, as the blades close and cut, do not nip and trap large hands.
When testing hedge trimmers, check that as they cut they do not jolt your hands and wrists; some shears have rubber stops to prevent this happening. Additionally, check that they cut along their entire cutting edges.
Preparing plants for planting
This involves pruning both roots and shoots. If a bare-rooted rose, shrub or tree has long or damaged roots, they need to be shortened or cut out completely before planting proceeds. Additionally, damaged or misplaced branches and shoots need cutting out to create a balanced “head”; a tree with too many branches on one side will look strange, as well as being more susceptible to damage from strong and gusting winds.
What is pre-planting pruning?
When planting, check that the top of the soil ball of a container-grown plant is even with the surrounding soil.
TRIMMING THE ROOTS
Preparing the roots is important for both bare-rooted and container-grown plants. Those of bare-rooted plants can be readily seen, and damaged or extra long ones identified. Use sharp pruning shears to cut those of roses to about 12 in (30 cm) long. If left, they prevent the plant being positioned over a mound of soil in the hole’s base and the roots evenly covered with friable soil. Damaged roots will not recover and may cause others to deteriorate and die.
The roots of container-grown roses and fruit trees also need attention. Trees left too long in a container before being sold may have contorted roots which will never properly anchor the plant. The container needs to be full of young, healthy roots that will quickly grow into surrounding soil when planted.
Getting plants established
Pruning roots and stems is not the only part of getting plants established. Erect ‘guards’ against rabbits if they are a pest in your area.
• Where a plant has been planted in early winter, in spring use the heel of your shoe or boot to refirm the soil. Frost tends to lift the soil, while strong winds may rock insecure plants and loosen their roots.
• Before refirming soil around trees that have been secured to a stake, loosen the ties. This is because the main stem will be slightly pressed downwards during firming and thereby strangled if the ties were not loosened. Firm the soil and then reposition and tighten the ties.
ROSE BUSH PREPARATION
Checking roots: Cut back long and thin roots so that they will not impede planting. Cut out roots which may have been damaged when the plant was dug up from the soil. Also cut out roots damaged by pests or diseases.
Checking shoots: Cut out thin or decayed shoots, as well as leaves which may still be present.
FRUIT TREE PREPARATION
Checking roots: Cut out thin, weak and diseased roots. Also, cut out extra thick and downward-growing roots – make a long, sloping cut on the underside.
Checking shoots: Use sharp pruning shears to cut out shoots that have been damaged. Ensure that the trunk is well secured to a stake, so that wind cannot cause damage.
Making the right cut
It is essential to prune just above a bud, rather than below it. By cutting slightly above a bud – without causing damage to it – it can be encouraged to develop into a strong, healthy shoot. If the cut is below, it will leave a long piece of stem above the bud positioned below it and this may cause the stem to die back and infect the entire plant. Additionally, long snags of dead shoots on shrubs and trees look unsightly and distract attention from the beauty of the plant.
Should I cut above or below a bud?
SHARP PRUNING SHEARS
If blunt pruning shears are used, they often tear and rip the stem, making the correct positioning of a cut impossible. Pruning shears that cause this problem have usually been used to cut shoots that were too thick for them. Bypass pruning shears (also known as parrot or cross-over types) are more likely than anvil types to be damaged by cutting too thick wood. Under these conditions the blades tend to bend apart. However, anvil types when cutting too thick wood can cause bruising. Therefore, if sharp – and not used on thick wood – the bypass type leaves a more clinical cut that will heal quickly. Small pruning shear-like scissors are sold for severing herbaceous stems when cutting flowers for decoration indoors; avoid using these on woody plants as they will be strained and the stems damaged.
MIND THOSE BUDS!
When pruning, take care not to knock off or damage buds on shoots that have just been pruned. If this happens, it is necessary to cut to a lower bud (if that is in the right position).
Remember …
• Before pruning a plant, thoroughly understand its nature so that it is correctly pruned.
• When pruning peaches and nectarines remember that there are three types of buds – fruit, growth and triple buds (for a detailed explanation, see pages 68–69).
• When pruning apples and pears, remember that some varieties bear fruits on spurs and others bear them at the tips of shoots (see pages 62–65).
CUTS FOR ROSES
Until experienced, a few cuts will be made in the wrong place, either too high above a bud or too low and leaving it perilously СКАЧАТЬ