You can continue winter pruning deciduous shrubs and trees through January and February.
Thin or prune branches that rub against one another and remove diseased limbs. Cut back the butterfly bush to about 1 foot above ground level. Trim crape myrtle branches back by 1 to 1½ feet. Both will rebound from pruning with new growth and improved flower production by summer.
Lopping large side branches and topping the main trunk of a tree to reduce the width or height is never recommended. These methods destroy the natural shape of the tree and are often the source of major problems. Large wounds foster decay, and new growth will be weak and vulnerable to wind. If it’s necessary to control the size of a large tree, rely on a skilled, professional tree trimmer.
Many maples will bleed sap if pruned in winter or early spring. Pruning cuts on these trees are best made in late summer or early autumn. Japanese maples such as the weeping form, Acer palmatum dissectum, found in so many of Northwest gardens, have a naturally intricate growth pattern. Live with your tree awhile before pruning. You may come to appreciate its unique character and find pruning unnecessary.
If you do find yourself pruning plants from year to year, take the leap and buy a good pruning book. My favorite has been “The Complete Guide to Pruning and Training Plants” by David Joyce and Christopher Brickell. In 2011, the Royal Horticultural Society and the American Horticultural Society published revised Pruning and Training books co-authored by Joyce and Brickell. They will add confidence to your pruning technique, and you may discover that it’s an easier task than you imagined it to be.
If you started feeding birds at the beginning of winter, continue. Once birds nest in an area, they begin to rely on a food source. At this time of year, the natural food supply is at a minimum. It’s also the time of year when birds require extra food for energy and warmth. Winter feeding will not affect the population of any species, but it will concentrate some birds locally where you want them: around your house.
I find myself exuberant after two days of winter sun. I feel like I’ve never seen clear sky after a solid week of rain. On a nice day last week, I helped weed a dormant perennial border and cleaned up fallen branches from a windstorm a couple of weeks prior. Today, I was drenched just going for a short walk around the Fort Vancouver site.
My mind knows it is winter, but temperatures have been high for this time of year. Plants are getting mixed messages. The daphne shrubs at Fort Vancouver are ready to burst into bloom. Mahonia aquifolium planted in a neighbor’s garden sends out tall, weatherproof yellow bouquets. Sometimes this variable winter weather can be confusing in the garden.
Evergreen shrubs and trees, broad-leaved as well as certain conifers, may need protection against winter sun and wind. This is especially true of any broad-leaved evergreens on the borderline of hardiness or in an exposed site. The chief concern is to make sure that water is not lost from the foliage more rapidly than it can be replaced by the roots. We’re safe so far with plenty of rain between the coldest and driest days.
It’s best to plant tender camellia, hebe, escallonia and the wonderfully fragrant Daphne odora in a somewhat protected site. Try an area next to a wall or behind a low evergreen hedge for wind protection. You may need to protect the plant with a wrapping of burlap if and when severe weather conditions threaten.
After the next period of heavy rain, mark any spots where water stands and fails to drain from your garden. Soil that holds water and doesn’t drain is death to more plants than cold, snow and freezing weather. If this is a recurrent problem, consider installing French drains or some other method of soil drainage as soon as possible.
If the area is small and off the beaten path of your garden, consider creating a bog garden. This works where water drains slowly, not where water pools for months at a time. Just be aware that bog garden plants do need some drainage and air around their roots. Japanese iris and several varieties of primrose not only do well, they thrive and multiply when their feet are wet.
Robb Rosser is a WSU-certified master gardener.
