Perennials to Trim Back in Spring
Marie Iannotti's helpful list of perennials to trim back in spring might be daunting at any other time of year. "What, you mean I have to trim back all those perennials? That's a lot of work!" But this time of year, it warms me up just to think ahead a bit, to a time when such tasks reappear on my To-Do list. To a gardener tired of looking at snow, trimming perennials signifies not work, but bliss.
For these are the days when many of us Northerners become winter-weary. We while away the hours with seed catalogs to keep our spirits up until our gardens return. Or we dream of warmer places. Steinbeck's rebuttal to such dreaming in Travels With Charley is, "[H]ow can one know color in perpetual green, and what good is warmth without cold to give it sweetness?" As tough a sell as that line of reasoning may be right now, I'll probably agree wholeheartedly with it come July.
Comments
From the central coast of California.
….we planted two Norfolk Island Pines in our front yard. They were beautiful and green but now the branches are yellow. New growth but both trees are obviously unhappy. We’ve tried fertilizer spikes, deep watering, and 16-16-16 but the trees are still more yellow than green. Any advice or suggestions?
Patti,
Consider having your soil tested at the nearest university extension. Also, remember that yellow foliage isn’t necessarily an indication of too little water and could actually be signaling that your Norfolk Island pine is getting too much water, perhaps due to poor drainage in the underlying soil. Too much fertilizer can also damage plants.