Rejuvenation Pruning Lifts Hearts, including mine, as I joined a lifelong friend and her grown sons to rejuvenate overgrown shrubs and renew their gardens.
We discuss how early spring is an ideal time to rejuvenate and prune Andromeda, Rhododendrons, Butterfly Bush, Spirea, and Cinquefoil. And, of course, how to.
And wrap up with a heartfelt story about how Michele's husband loved working with his boys. He passed away two years ago. No doubt, he looks down from above with pride and love.
Related Stories and Helpful Links
Rejuvenation Pruning Lifts Hearts
Reasons to Prune – features the story of my viburnum riddled with aphids.
Beneficial Ladybugs
How to Rejuvenate Prune Rhododendron
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I'd love to hear your garden and nature stories and your thoughts about topics for future podcast episodes. You can email me at AskMaryStone@gmail.com. Thanks so much for tuning in.
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Thank you for sharing the Garden of Life,
Mary Stone, Columnist & Garden Designer
AskMaryStone.com
More about the Podcast and Column:
Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.
It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page
More about the Podcast and Column:
Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.
It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page
Ep 106 Rejuvenation Pruning Lifts Hearts
Sat, Apr 29, 2023 2:47PM • 8:50
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
garden, michele, plant, cut, prune, foot, porch, dilemmas, new hairdo, blooms, rejuvenate, new york botanical, pruning, rhododendrons, rejuvenation, rhododendron, andromeda, dilemmas, mary stone, garden, nature, inspiration
SPEAKERS
Mary Stone
Mary Stone 00:00
Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone, and welcome to garden dilemmas, delights, and discoveries. It's not only about gardens, it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Mary Stone 00:26
Hello, there's Mary Stone on a chilly screen porch after a morning walk in the beauty of nature in the world. Today's cloud formations were exceptionally splendid, all puffy and white on top with rich gray bottoms, creating an interesting texture in the sky. Sometimes we forget to look up. Remember as kids lying on the grass and looking at the clouds, finding faces and animals in their shapes? There is something grand about looking up at the sky, making you feel part of the big picture. Part of the world --highly suggested more so as the big kids that we are today.
Mary Stone 01:04
Thanks to those that reach back after last week's chat about Living in Nature's Cadence rather than allowing the busyness of life to overwhelm and create stress. Take time to play. Like looking up at the clouds with a big smile. I'm giggling as I look out on the screen porch, I see that the aphids are back on the leather leaf viburnum. This is a cadence of nature I sure could do without. I shared the dilemma in Episode 29, Aphid Invasion - Beneficial Ladybugs, and the drastic measures I took on a whim, cutting the shrubs down in desperation, and leaving about a foot or two of branches at random heights. It's called rejuvenation pruning, which sounds better than Desperate Measures, don't you think? Lady bugs love eating aphids. So, I'll have to revisit that story myself and invite a few more lovely ladies to intervene. I'll put a link in the show notes. So today, we'll share another rejuvenation pruning story that starts like this.
Mary Stone 02:04
Hello fellow listeners and readers. It's always fun to have a new hairdo, as has my friend Michele who lives in Sparta, New Jersey. She was sporting a new do when I arrived to help rejuvenate her front shrubs. They've been there 28 years I believe, and they've managed their size over the years. But now they are overgrown, encompassing the front walkway and stoop, making it hard to get around them, I must say. It was Earth Day and Michele's birthday, so I arrived with a new plant. A Rose of Sharon 'White Pillar' grows about 16 feet high and is only three to four feet wide and will look lovely anchoring the right side of the rear deck stairs. Her grown sons I've known since day one, helped, choosing their tools of choice. Matthew, the younger son at the wheel of a chainsaw, and Michael, I still call Mikey with permission, excelled at dividing the Stella d ‘Oro Lilies, planting them and the newly created portion of the back garden. He planted the gifted Rose of Sharon, which I so appreciated and dug in the lovely lavender Michele bought. I smiled because when I placed them and asked if she wanted them dug in, she said, “Shouldn't we place them first.” The random placement rather than the lineup is intentional, as mother nature would do. She quickly approved the placement. It took longer to convince Michele to do the significant cutting of the Andromeda, overwhelming the stairs. She was worried about the outcome looking like a bunch of sticks. And it does, for now, I'll have to admit.
Mary Stone 03:33
"What inspired you for your new hairdo," I asked. It's a flattering chin-length bob and blonder than before. "I wanted something brighter and new." Exactly. Maybe it inspired her to allow me to cut back her plants too. She is such a dear friend, we've known each other since, my goodness, our late 20s. How time flies.
Mary Stone 03:54
Matthew suggested rather than the extreme rejuvenation pruning; we should tackle it so that the garden looks good within a year. He was anxious to use the chainsaw, but I coached him that using the loppers would allow more random cuts and varying heights so that the plants look more natural. By the end, he declared himself the king of loppers. Rather than cut Andromeda the way that New York Botanical Gardens suggest in their frequently asked questions: cutting them down to a foot above the ground after the blooms are spent, we pruned the plants about a foot below the railings so that plenty of leaves will be dressing the now naked plant as the growing season unfolds. Hopefully, Michele will be happy with her new haircut. I think she was in shock when I left. By the way, Michele, per the New York Botanical Gardens, after a year, everything will be back to normal. So, there you go.
Mary Stone 04:47
I always enjoy sharing the reasons to prune because they are similar to the reasons for caring for ourselves and our families. Improving appearance and health, training the young, controlling size, preventing injury or damage, rejuvenating the old, and influencing bounty. But choosing the right plant is the first step to limiting the need for pruning. Then there are times when desperate measures call for rejuvenation pruning. Right Michele? It's kind of like removing the old wood from our lives.
Mary Stone 05:17
I wish we could remove the barberry along the front foundation planting, but the prickly beasts remain. The volunteer that rooted itself in my rock garden, I've cut it down every year-- twice, most often, and it keeps coming back. Birds love the seeds of Barberry, causing the plant to be on the invasive list. That's why we don't plant them anymore. I allowed Matthew to attack them with a chainsaw. Then I carefully pruned stems randomly to tidy them up.
Mary Stone 05:46
We didn't prune her stickley Rhododendron. The PGM is severely browsed by deer, but it's blooming beautifully on the top. I suggest they prune them after the blooms fade. A big leaf variety, maybe native Rhododendron was primarily spared, perhaps protected by the Weigelia.
Mary Stone 06:03
Rejuvenation pruning works particularly well on rhododendrons because of their unique trait. They have tiny pink pinhead dots called latent buds that pepper the surface of the older branches. These latent buds will sprout a new framework of branching. Prune above a cluster of latent buds rather than above just one bud to encourage multiple stems. Not to worry if you make a mistake, as rhododendrons are very forgiving.
Mary Stone 06:29
Before I arrived, Michele worked in her garden and cut back the butterfly bushes as I've always coached - about one foot to a foot-and-a-half staggering the stems. Other shrubs I rejuvenate in the spring by cutting them to half their size or the little princess Japanese spirea and Cinquefoil. Like butterfly bushes, they bloom on new wood so that we won't miss out on the flowers this season. Michele's butterfly bush is old and used to overcome the walkway. It's already pushing out new growth from the roots. See that even those of us that are mature can sprout new shoots of growth. Rejuvenation rocks. Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone.com.
Mary Stone 07:10
There's a heartfelt part of the story. Michele's husband passed away unexpectedly two years ago. I thanked the boys for their hard work and asked if they enjoyed helping their dad with yard work. It was clear by their response that they did. "I love seeing when he'd stand back at the end of the day looking at the garden with such happiness, which made me happy too." I am sure Michael, their dad, and Michele's husband, is proud of his family and his smiling down from above.
Mary Stone 07:41
Yes, indeed. It was a joyful day to spend with Michele, and her grown sons, who I cannot believe are such grown men and just so magnificent. I am absolutely sure Michael is proud. I sure am, and I'm so thankful for the friendship. And I'm thankful to you for visiting with me each week on the screen porch, learning and growing the Garden of Life. It's helping me so much just the things that we share together. And I hope it's helping you, too, to live joyfully and happily as we begin this new season of growth. Thanks so much. Have a great day.
Mary Stone 08:19
You can follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook or online at Garden Dilemmas.com and on Instagram at hashtag Mary Elaine Stone. Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch. And always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great day.