Soil
What are the 3 types of soil?
Silt, Sand and Clay
What is the best time to fertilize?
Spring before the weather gets too hot. Under 85 degrees.
In general, how much living growth can be removed during pruning?
30%
When do you prune roses?
April, when you start to see signs of life.
What are the different plant parts that can help in IDing a plant?
Roots, stems, leaves, flowers/fruits
What is Loam?
Equal parts Silt and Sand with small amounts of Clay
What is the diff between compost and topsoil?
Compost is decomposed organic matter. Top soil is the upper layer of earth surface 2-8" down.
What is a proper angle for a cut on an opposite budding stem?
45 degrees.
When do we prune plants that develop blooms on OLD wood? Name 3 examples
Right after blooming. Plants can vary: Oak leaf and Macrophylla hydrangea, Weigela and Lilac
What tasks are included in standard maintenance?
Weeding, pruning (under 25 ft), raking and fluffing mulch, hedging, deadheading, perennial cut back, leaf removal, Blowing and clean up.
What is the main defining factor in soil types?
Particle size
What are the 3 main nutrients in Fertilizer?
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Potassium
What are 3 issues to remove when pruning, besides aesthetic shaping?
Dead, Damaged or broken, crossing/rubbing branches, Bonus: leaning branches that will cause imbalance and splitting.
What is the trick to pruning Climbing roses?
Climbing roses bloom on side shoots only. Cut main canes down to desired height and cut side shoots back to trelis shape, or 2- 5 nodes. The same method can be followed for many other woody vines.
What is leap frog gardening?
Taking a 20 ft section of garden and completing all tasks in that space before moving on. Communicating with your crew mates to move to the next section so that so space is missed.
What are common issues with Sandy soil?
High drainage and virtually always dry. No abiliy to hold fertilizer and plants have a hard time getting nutrients
What is the most effective way to improve soil texture?
Topdress with compost once per year. Claymend applications is a more concentrated method that treats whole yard areas, and areas where you would not want to add to the soil level.
What is the ending bud on a stem called? What are the side buds on a stem called?
Apical bud, Auxillary buds
What does "create light and air" mean in pruning?
Plants that have proper air flow within their centers will prevent fungal and pest issues. Pruning to create filtered light will prevent the dead zone development. An over hedged plant will create a thin crust and no foliage in the inner branches. With less leaves being developed a plant has less Photosynthesis and Respiration
What are the 4 main types of hydrangeas that grow in our region?
Oakleaf - Quercifolia
Bigleaf - Macroplylla
Annabelle - Arborescens
Climbing - Anomala petiolaris
Bonus for Mountain - Seratta
What issues are caused by Clay?
Drainage issues, with can cause over or under watering. Drainage issues can cause fungal diseases. Holding fertilizer which can lead to run off issues and Fertilizer burn.
Why is mulch important?
insulates roots and makes watering more efficient
Adds organic matter
Prevents soil erosion
What is coppicing? What is Pollarding? What is espellier?
Coppicing is a rejuvination cut of a woody plant. All the way to ground level to allow a new flush of stems. It can be done as needed, or every 3 years on plants like a smoke bush.
Pollarding is a method similar to coppicing but the plant is cut back tightly to a main truck. This is Done every year.
Espellier is a method of controlled continuous pruning to keep a tree growing in a flat vertical shape.
When do you prune plants that develop blooms on new wood? Name some examples.
When the plants are dormant or just ending dormancy. At MBG we prefer to prune after the danger of frost damage is gone. Paniculata Hydrangea, Spirea (continuous pruning through the season), Arborescens Hydrangea, Roses, Clematis.
Evergreen pruning: What time frame do we trim boxwoods? What is the annual maintenance pruning step for all other common ornamental evergreens?
Boxwoods: May-September, no frost times
Evergreens: Trim off apical meristems to avoid dead zone development and activate auxiliary side buds.