In many years, horticulture’s glorious October-color fades away in November and December. Splashes of color from chrysanthemums and asters, along with once-blazing hues of deciduous leaves slip away into the monochromatic days of November and December. Jack Frost has wiped out most annual-bedding plants that cheered summer and fall gardens. Now that the warm season is a memory and cold weather knocks at the door, what can gardeners do for color?
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Not the Time to Prune Trees and Shrubs
Deciduous trees are losing their leaves. Does this signal a time for pruning? Generally, no. The preferred time for pruning most woody plants is late winter to early spring. These plants will be initiating grown in spring and will be better able to deal with cut surfaces. Plants pruned in fall and winter, as growth ceases, are less able to deal with pruning cuts. However, there are some types of pruning that can be practiced at any time of the year.
Continue readingA Little About Cranberries
Cranberries were first called craneberries by the pilgrims, since this plant has small pink blossoms which appear in spring and resemble the head and bill of a Sandhill crane. Early settlers used the cranberry as a natural preservative when mixed with meat. This dish was called pemmican and was a mixture of crushed cranberries, dried deer meat, and melted fat.
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