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Making It Grow! News Articles

September 4, 2005

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Hurricane Katrina caused death and destruction to the Gulf Coast last week. For many South Carolinians, it reminded us of Hugo and its devastation on September 22, 1989. In all situations, hurricanes, tornadoes, and ice bring natural pruning of many plants. Unfortunately, the timing is not always correct in our way of thinking. But, Mother Nature is always in control and some of her actions will always be a mystery to us.

Question: My variegated pittosporums have grown quite a bit this year. When would it be best to prune them? With all the rain that we received this year pittosporums and many other ornamentals around the home landscape have a tremendous amount of vegetative growth. This is especially true if you fertilized them in the spring with a fertilizer containing lots of nitrogen. Even though they may look unsightly now, it would be best to wait until late fall before pruning them. If you prune them now, you will encourage lots of new growth. This growth will be tender and succulent as the plant starts into the dormant season. We always want our plants to be "running out of energy" during this time of the year. Since pittosporums are sensitive to cold weather, your chances of winter kill will increase if much pruning is initiated right now.

Question: We decided to prune some of our Leyland cypress. Now, it is bleeding severely. How can we stop this process and will it hurt the tree? Even though the bleeding may be unsightly, it will bother you much more than the tree. Excreting sap is not harmful to the tree. It is a natural process. With the abundance of rain this year, bleeding will be very common. Some gardeners think you have to paint the wound for protection and to stop the bleeding. There is no research to support this practice. It is important that you make a clean cut at an angle that will not trap moisture and debris. This is important for all trees. When moisture is able to get trapped between the cut and the trunk, rot begins. You will get less bleeding if you wait until early winter to start pruning Leyland cypress and other trees.

Question: I know this sounds crazy but I would like to try planting some bamboo as a screen between my house and a potential new convenience store next door. What would you recommend? If the store owners find out you are considering bamboo, they may not build. But, they may not be aware that there are some non-invasive cultivars on the market. Pioneer Plants of Plymouth, Massachusetts claims they have developed some bamboo that is non-invasive and very cold tolerant. In fact, they will send you a free sample of some of their favorite bamboo, Fargesia rufa or Panda. You can reach them at their website
(www.bambooselect.us) or email (info@bambooselct.us). I am not that familiar with any of the new cultivars of bamboo but do know that much progress has been made in the propagation of tissue culture of this plant.