The Joy of Pruning

Pruning apples, that is. Many people are totally confused about how to prune an apple tree. And to be honest, I wasn't real good at it. I'm not claiming I'm good at it now. I'm a little better.

Now is the time to prune apple trees -- really anytime before the buds start swelling. I pruned about 8 that I have at home yesterday on February 27. The prunings are where you get scion wood, which I need for a grafting workshop on April 3.

Anyway, here's a before and after shot of my Liberty apple tree. The tree is about 7 years old now. By the way, the sky was that blue yesterday -- wonderful!

Urban Trees Need Soil (Dirt)!

At the Central KY Ornamental and Turf Association meeting yesterday, we had the great pleasure to hear someone relate the dilemma of street trees. Guess what? These trees need soil (or soil-like stuff) to grow and live and thrive. And the more there is, the better they do. Doesn't this make complete sense?

I'm not at all criticizing this guy -- I absolutely loved his talk. And I think if we really want to have a thriving downtown in Somerset, part of the budget MUST be spent on trees and giving them what they need to do well.

There's nothing sadder-looking than unthrifty street trees. Somerset has many examples. Anyone reading this, I challenge you to get good information on the benefits of street trees to downtown businesses (or anywhere else for that matter) and get talking with your local governments.

There are meetings on how to organize a street tree board and how to get the whole conversation going. Click here to find more info about one coming up in March.