The Willow Glen Resident Dormant season is time for pruning fruit trees Tony Tomeo We are still three weeks from winter, but your garden may already look like it's done for the year. Even if there are still leaves on some of the deciduous trees, they are already dormant. This is the slowest time of year for gardeners. Your main concern may be just keeping the leaves off the lawn. You won't be planting much now, but you should continue planting small groups of cool-season vegetables at two-week intervals for a continuous supply. Irrigation may be ignored to some degree because of rain and shorter, cooler days, but be sure to water any flowers or vegetables you planted in containers or beds in the fall. When leaves have fallen, the season for pruning begins. Fruit trees should be pruned now to avoid wasting any of the tree's energy on superfluous branches which would otherwise continue growth in the spring. Proper pruning is essential to production of all the stonefruit, such as almonds, apricots, nectarines, peaches, cherries, plums and prunes. It is also important for apples, pears, figs, grapes and cane berries. I cannot overemphasize the importance of proper pruning techniques! If you doubt your ability, do your research. Poor pruning may be more detrimental than no pruning. Wait until after the spring bloom, however, to prune ornamental fruitless or small fruited trees of the same species as your fruit trees, such as flowering cherries, flowering plums or crabapples. I actually prune my purple-leafed plum as it blooms because the branches are great (but messy) cut flowers. Although these trees are closely related to those that provide fruit, pruning is not as important, or sometimes not even necessary. Flowering pears, for example, are actually quite low-maintenance trees. Fruitless trees do not overproduce heavy fruit that can pull apart the structure of fruit trees. The formation of sterile flowers requires far less energy than the production of fruit and does not strain the tree. Large shade trees also require maintenance. Fortunately, most do not require annual pruning. Sometimes the work is more than you are able or willing to do yourself; in which case professional arborists are needed. Because foliage indicates overly dense or stressed parts of large trees, most arborists prefer to work in trees with leaves on them; but knowledgeable arborists agree that trees should be worked on during dormancy. As with fruit trees, poor pruning technique can be very damaging. Because shade trees are the most substantial investment in your landscape, it is important to find qualified arborists. Plant of the Week: Camellia Camellias are classic flowers available in many different forms and in many shades and of red, white and pink. The plants also vary in size and form. Early blooming camellias have been blooming since October and late ones will be blooming in May. The plants prefer shelter from direct sun, but large plants provide their own shade and can grow well if surrounding shrubbery or trees are removed. The root system prefers deep mulch for insulation from both heat and cold. Mulch also helps control camellia petal blight--the camellia's only disease problem--by keeping the spores from becoming airborne. Mulch should be replaced at the beginning of each blooming season, and flowers should be picked up as they fall to minimize the production of more spores. Soil must be well-drained and rich. In containers, as much as half organic matter is recommended. Plants need acid fertilizer after bloom until autumn but are sensitive to overfertilization. Burned leaf margins indicate overfertilization that can be remedied by flushing the soil with water to wash the salts out. Never fertilize sick plants. Camellia japonica is the most popular and most available species. Early bloomers start in October with other cultivars as late as May. Most plants are 6 to 12 feet tall. The flowers range in size from two-and-a-half to 4 inches with some cultivars producing 6-inch-wide flowers. The glossy, dense, deep green foliage make handsome shrubs out of bloom. Camellia sasanqua starts blooming in autumn, with the latest bloomers finishing in early winter. The flowers are small, from 2 to 3-and-a-half inches, but very profuse, sometimes extending the bloom cycle past a month. The plants are more sun-tolerant than other camellias and exhibit a wider range in structure, from sprawling ramblers to rigidly upright forms. Camellia reticulata is the boldest of camellias, producing very large flowers. It blooms in a short cycle as early as January or as late as May. It tends to overproduce flower buds, so culling will encourage the most impressive flowers. Plants are usually about 10 feet tall and about 8 feet wide, but can grow 30 to 40 feet tall! Unfortunately, the plants are lanky and not so attractive out of bloom, so they tend to be grown more for their unusual flowers than as a landscape feature. Tony Tomeo can be reached at 358-2574. [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, December 2, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.