On 29/08/2014 18:44, Ophelia wrote:


"Spider" wrote in message
...

Hello again, Ophelia. Good idea to start a new thread.
As you probably know, I've been replying to Jake D's original post.
It seems only good manners since we rather hijacked his thread!
(Thanks, JD, for not complaining).

From me too I have been learning from your posts to him as well)


Thank you for taking the extra photographs. Alas, I'm having a spot
of trouble with Tinypic just now :~((. I got a glimpse, then they
disappeared. I'll look again later.

I'll try and work from memory for now, so I might mentally 'hop' about
a bit.

*Cotoneaster: not certain which one it is, but it looks vigorous
enough. However, I'm not terribly happy about the taped up wound where
your dog showed his appreciation. If there are wounds (probably),
they really need to get some air to them while the wood really hardens
off. After that, instead of using tape, could you protect the area
with, say, a modified wire hanging basket instead or even a strong
wire mesh which would allow the shrub to breathe, otherwise you may be
inviting fungal problems. You'd need to keep an eye on it as the
Cotoneaster grows so that the wire doesn't cut into the bark. The
same is true of the tape, of course; if it doesn't 'give' when the
trunk expands, then the tape will tighten and cut in. This can be
very damaging/even fatal.

Gosh thanks! It is just string but I will take it all off immediately
and keep a good eye on my dog!


Although Cotoneasters don't need lots of pruning, you may choose to
tidy it into a preferred shape which best accommodates its space/looks
aesthetically pleasing to you. Pruning should be done in winter or
mid-spring, except for Cotoneaster horizontalis which should be pruned
in late winter.

I can't remember the type, but it does spread horizontally if that makes
any sense?



Quite a few Cotoneasters have an arching and seemingly horizontal
growth, but C. Horizontalis is distinctive in having a 'herringbone'
arrangement of branches. I was going to add a link here, but Google is
agonisingly slow here just now and won't perform. Do look it up,
though, as it's quite attractive. I only mentioned it in case you (or
another reader) had one, since the pruning time is different.


I tend to prune out the extension growths on my
Cotoneasters so that the berries are shown off. I usually do this in
autumn, however, and never had any problems. Cotoneasters do not
always respond well to very hard pruning, so only take out larger
branches that you really don't want.

It is rather spreading and the branches are drooping down to ground
level. Noted! A job for next month then?



I would suggest leaving it until November/December, if you can, as it
will be more dormant then and less likely to throw out new soft growth
which would be damaged by frost.


*Plum Tree: these must be pruned in good, dry sunny weather so that
the cut heals quickly, otherwise the tree can succumb to 'Silver
Leaf', which is very harmful, so you need to act on a sunny day. Hope
you can find one:~).

heh well it won't be this week ... g I will! I have heard of silver
leaf and wondered if it has it and that may be why it hasn't fruited but
apart from some holey leaves, it looks ok. What does 'silver leaf'
look like?


It gives a silvery metallic appearance to the leaf, not surprisingly!
Sorry, that's not sarcasm, but once again I can't send you a link to an
image, which is very frustrating. I will try again later when Google's
bucked its ideas up. If you do find you have Silver Leaf, you will need
to cut out all infected growth, then burn the prunings and disinfect the
tools used. At last! I've got a link. Hope it works for you:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=245


Recalling the earlier pics, your plum seemed to have a number of
poorly healed stubs where previous pruning took place. Woody pruning
cuts (not just for plum trees) should always be at the 'collar':
somewhat sub-conical, wrinkled area of the branch between the trunk
(or major branch) you're cutting back to and the branch you're cutting
out. This area contains the healing cells and hormones which will
start to heal the cut. So: do not leave a stub, do not cut flush with
the trunk.

I don't remember cutting it but it has been a long time. If I don't cut
flush with the trunk, how will it not leave a stub?



Sorry, I've obviously not explained it very well *and* I can't send you
a link. I'll try and improvise: |/......

Hope you can follow this: the perpendicular line | is the trunk,
the symbol is the collar,
the slash / is your cut and the dotted line ..... is the branch you are
removing. After pruning, you should be left with: |
It may be necessary sometimes to remove a tiny bit of the collar to get
a clean cut, but there should always be enough left to heal over. I
hope this has helped a bit.
Now, thankfully, you can see the link:
http://treecarepruningandplanting.com/branch-collar.htm




Hope I've explained that well enough. Anyway, you need to cleanly cut
away the stubs and half branches. Also take out any dead, dying or
damaged wood. Having done this, clean your secateurs/loppers so that
you do not introduce disease to new cuts. Just as with an apple tree,
the plum should not have any inward-growing branches which will stifle
air movement, or branches that cross each other and cause - or may
cause - chafing, so you will need to cut these out.

Right! Looking at it atm, if I cut out all the cross branches, it might
not leave much else. Is it ok to leave it fairly denuded? Will it grow
to fill in the gaps?


Mmmm... you might need to leave some of the less congested cross-growth
which looks healthy, and take it out another time when you see how the
tree responds to this year's work. The important thing is that there is
no chafing and that the tree is as clean of disease as possible.
Since it's not been pruned for some time, I suppose you could even leave
it until next April-ish and prune it in really good weather.


At the moment, that is heaps for you to do and you don't want to
stress the tree by taking out too much wood at once. What you can do,
however, is look for any fruit (healthy, damaged, suffering Brown Rot
[fungus in rings] or 'mummified') and remove them. In fact, because
of the fungus risk, it would be better to do this job before you start
pruning!

I don't have many apples and some are really nice. A few others look
'scabby' is that what you mean?



Well, 'scabby' has a couple of connotations. It could just be that the
skin appears slightly less than perfect but is perfectly healthy or it
could mean your tree has Apple Scab:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=81
Good, it seems I can send link now.



Well, Ophelia, it's nearly dinner time again, so I'm going to have a
rest from the screen now. Sorry I couldn't see your new pics, but
hope I've given you enough information for now.

Yes!!! Thank you once again! As I have mentioned I am saving all your
advice and will continue to work through it.

Oooh, just had a thought! Do you know the varietal name of your
apple? It may tell us whether it's tip or spur bearing ... which has a
bearing on the pruning;~).

Yes, it is a James Grieve. I always remember that because when I
planted it, someone asked me what type of apple it is. When I told him
he asked me why I called my tree, James. g



Great! That helps a lot. It is spur bearing, which is much easier to
prune. Whilst you can't exactly prune willy nilly, you can prune
relatively freely without cutting out fruiting wood each year.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/74563/...ve-(D)/Details

I must do a bit of gardening tomorrow, but will look in again later on
and discuss the Holly et al *and* will try and find those pics. Have
a lovely evening.

Please don't concern yourself too much nor feel you must respond *only*
to me! I am more than happy to wait until you have to time and I am
sure there is a lot more posts that will take your interest.

You are most kind and I am very grateful

Enjoy your dinner

Ophelia



Right, I think I've covered your questions from last time, but do come
back if there's something you still don't understand. It does take a
while for it all to sink in.

I'm just going to briefly mention your Holly while it's on my mind, then
I shall do some gardening. I need the fresh air.

The pale shoots on the trunk of your holly (or anywhere else they occur)
should be pruned out. They're not really doing any harm, but they
probably have little or no chlorophyll, so are not contributing to the
tree, but are using its resources. As ever, dead, dying and diseased
material should be removed (and tools disinfected). Otherwise, it is
really a case of shaping it, if needed, to a fairly natural, balanced
and pleasing shape. Pruning should take place from mid to late summer
before the wood becomes completely hardened. Earlier pruning can result
in new shoots which make the shape uneven again.

When I come back, I'll try and get your pics again, just in case I've
missed something obvious.

I'm not at all bothered about concentrating on this, Ophelia, so don't
worry. When I need a break or must do a task, I'll use my common sense
and pause a while. I do have a lot of migraine troubles, so I do take
frequent breaks from the screen, which is my only bug bear. I could
talk about gardening all day if my brain didn't hurt and, in truth, it's
so nice to help someone as eager to learn as you and so generous with
feedback. I know when you've understood something, which helps me move
forward. Thank you.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay