Online Summer Gardening Course : Help Your Garden Grow! This course is suitable for both new and experienced gardeners. Visit the Dane County Extension website at https://dane.extension.wisc.edu/ to learn about and register for our series of nine online courses beginning January 18. You can purchase a variety of units on one pricing plan or purchase select units. Classes are taught by experts from the University of Washington and horticulture educators from Dane County Extension. Topics range from seeds, tips for growing different plants, diseases and insects, fertilizers, cover crops and more! All categories are recorded except the plant diseases category.
Trees and Shrubs: It has been an unusual winter so far. Trees and shrubs are usually dormant enough to be pruned at this time . But some days our temperature fluctuates as high as 45°F or higher, making it less safe.
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Ideally, wait until temperatures are in the 15 to 32°F range before cutting. To ensure the safety of oaks and elms, not only must the tree be kept dormant, but the temperature must also be low, as fungi that wilt nearby oaks or bugs that spread elm disease Dutch cannot exit the inactivity state. Even for a relatively short time, when the temperature reaches 50 degrees F, they can be revived and a new cut will be very attractive. For safety reasons, the temperature must be cool enough for at least 24 hours before and after cutting. I'm currently hoping to harvest at least mid-January, ideally February or March (if temperatures are in the optimal range).
However, very cold weather can damage cuttings. Freshly cut trees are more sensitive to cold. The clipping reaches a maximum in 48 hours and gradually decreases in two weeks. A sudden drop in temperature from 50 to 60 degrees to 0 degrees Fahrenheit can damage plants. Prepare pruning work from mid-January to the end of March; You don't have to do everything at once.
Pruning fruit trees takes a long time; You can do it in February and March. Do not prune spring-flowering shrubs such as lilac, fothergilla, spring-flowering dogwood, forsythia, weila or viburnum this year unless you are willing to forego next year's flower display.
If you would like to learn more about pruning, the Dann County Extension Office will host a shrub and tree pruning workshop with some hands-on exercises on Saturday, March 2 and Saturday, March 23 at the Teaching Garden. Find out more details below. in January on the Dane County Extension website at https://dane.extension.wisc.edu/ under the Horticulture tab.
-Lisa Johnson
UW-Extension Dane County Horticulture Instructor
Ideally, wait until temperatures are between 15 and 32°F to prune trees and shrubs.
