Pruning

Prune Your Hellebores: A Public Service Announcement

August 14, 2011 2 comments
Thumbnail image for Prune Your Hellebores: A Public Service Announcement

Lenten roses, Helleborus orientalis, are gorgeous in winter. They’re gorgeous in spring, too. But if you don’t deadhead them once they’re done blooming, they stop being gorgeous and start looking ratty. Then, they turn into spawning hellcats, dropping masses of seeds that sprout into masses of tiny, slow-growing, hard-to-remove seedlings that, yes, could theoretically turn [...]

Click here to continue reading →

Hellebore Pruning: How-To and A Cautionary Tale

February 18, 2011 14 comments
Thumbnail image for Hellebore Pruning: How-To and A Cautionary Tale

There are two schools of thought on pruning Lenten rose, or Helleborus orientalis. One side says to prune off the old foliage to the very base just as the Hellebore is starting to flower. The bloom spikes start coming up in the center of the plant, and the old foliage lays down obediently: If you [...]

Click here to continue reading →

Fiskars PowerGear Pruning Shear: Rolling Handle Pruners That Don’t Kill Your Pocketbook

February 9, 2011 25 comments
Thumbnail image for Fiskars PowerGear Pruning Shear: Rolling Handle Pruners That Don’t Kill Your Pocketbook

One of my most popular posts has been a Hand Pruner Showdown in which I compared and contrasted Felcos, Coronas, and Bahcos. One of the first comments on that post was a Fiskars fan, saying essentially – “OMG! Try the Fiskars pruners – they’re inexpensive AND ergonomic”. And so they are! Now that I’ve tried [...]

Click here to continue reading →

Video Review of Fiskars Powergear Hedging Shear

February 20, 2010 8 comments
Thumbnail image for Video Review of Fiskars Powergear Hedging Shear

If you’ve hung around North Coast Gardening for any length of time, you know that I’m a sucker for tools that do multiple jobs well. This hedging shear is my go-to tool for cutting back perennials in fall and winter, pruning ornamental grasses and sword ferns in winter, and deadheading heathers and other plants that [...]

Click here to continue reading →

Your Gardening Body: How to Prune Trees Without Strain or Pain

February 7, 2010 2 comments
Thumbnail image for Your Gardening Body: How to Prune Trees Without Strain or Pain

Anne Asher, a movement specialist from The MOVE! Blog, answers questions about how professional or passionate gardeners can reduce the strain that comes from repetitive gardening tasks. Check out her new product – great for winter time – called Clear the Blear. Here’s this month’s installment: When pruning apple and other trees in January, I [...]

Click here to continue reading →

Pruning Miscanthus Grass: How to Cut Back Big Ornamental Grasses

January 27, 2010 10 comments
Thumbnail image for Pruning Miscanthus Grass: How to Cut Back Big Ornamental Grasses

Ready to prune your Miscanthus Grass? This is the time of year to do it! Ornamental grasses start shedding little grass bits everywhere in January, and with every windy storm they become increasingly messy until in early March you have a bunch of grass sticks still upright and grass leaves piled up everywhere in your [...]

Click here to continue reading →

Brrr! What NOT to Prune in Winter

January 17, 2010 7 comments
Thumbnail image for Brrr! What NOT to Prune in Winter

Right now it’s major big time pruning season here in Northern Cali. I’m cutting back hardy perennials, roses, fruit and other dormant trees and ornamental grasses. But there are a few things I’m leaving alone for the time being. A lot of my favorite plants are frost-tender and can be killed by a stern frost [...]

Click here to continue reading →

Video Review of the Fiskars Pruning Stik, My Favorite Pole Pruner

December 12, 2009 7 comments
Thumbnail image for Video Review of the Fiskars Pruning Stik, My Favorite Pole Pruner

Lightweight’s the name of the game for this pole pruner. I’ve been using these Fiskars Pruning Stiks for many years in my landscaping business and have not yet broken or had to retire one. Many pole pruners fail because they try to do too much – they have a saw, a lopper, they extend, and [...]

Click here to continue reading →

How to Prune Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ (Video Tutorial)

November 30, 2009 15 comments
Thumbnail image for How to Prune Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ (Video Tutorial)

Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ is a true garden classic, especially paired with ornamental grasses, lavenders and colorful sages. It’s particularly great because during the summer when everything else is blooming, its greenish-white buds are getting bigger and bigger, creating a subtly beautiful show, then as everything else slows for the fall, ‘Autumn Joy’ bursts into bloom [...]

Click here to continue reading →

How to Summer-Prune a Floppy Miscanthus Grass (Video Tutorial)

September 26, 2009 9 comments
Thumbnail image for How to Summer-Prune a Floppy Miscanthus Grass (Video Tutorial)

I’m a big fan of ornamental grasses because they add so much motion and life to a garden. If you use multiples, they’re an easy way of bringing a sense of continuity to a busy or scattered-feeling garden, because the effect of their foliage is so soothing. Miscanthus is a favorite because it grows so [...]

Click here to continue reading →

← Previous Entries