Answers to your gardening questions (by those in the know!)

Who in their right mind, with any knowledge of the incredibly invasive habits of this climber, would choose to introduce it to their own garden?

WE have some really ifty govt agencies that get an idea up their asses and nothing can stop them. SOme US Dept Af office decided to plany KUDZU vines in the south US in the 50's and the stuff has grown unchecked all over the south. Its the "Vine that ate the south"

Early March application: Broadcast 1 cup of 10-10-10 per year of tree age to a maximum of 10 cups for mature trees.

August application*: Broadcast 1 cup of calcium nitrate or equivalent per year of tree age to a maximum of 4 cups for mature trees. Don't apply until all fruit is harvested.

(* A split application of calcium nitrate or equivalent should be applied during the summer for newly planted trees; 1//2 cup calcium nitrate in early June and again in early August.)

January
Apply Fertilome Dormant spray to fruit trees, shade trees and shrubs.

February
Prune fruit trees.

June
Continue fruit tree disease and insect control.

July
Treat for bores on trees and fruit trees with spinosad. Cover trunk and base of tree.
Spray fruit trees with Fertilome Fruit Tree Spray to protect developing fruit.
Thin fruit or stake heavy fruit tree branches or fast growing plants before any breakage occurs.

October
Last treatment for stone fruit for peach tree borers.

Fertilizers. No fertilizer is needed the first season. In sandy soil, a small amount may be beneficial, if the tree is actively growing. It should be applied once or twice during the season and followed with plenty of water. Never apply fertilizer to dry soil. Irrigate and wait until the next regular irrigation before applying more fertilizer. As the tree grows older, apply more fertilizer. Nitrogen is usually the main element needed. A general rule is to apply 1/8 to 1/4 lb of actual N (about 3/4 to 1-3/4 lb of ammonium sulfate) annually for each year of age or inch of trunk diameter, up to a total of 5 lbs of N per tree. Apply no fertilizer after June 30.

The First Summer: Pruning the first-year tree during its first summer can be an effective method of developing the tree frame. Trees should be pruned at least once and possibly two times during the summer before growth ceases. Summer pruning will reduce the amount of dormant pruning required the first winter and will direct growth into the desirable scaffold branches. During May and again in July, low shoots on the trunk should be removed to a height of 20 inches. All shoots that form angles of less than 45 degrees with the trunk should be removed. Vertical shoots that are unacceptable as scaffold branches should be removed. A spreading growth habit can be encouraged by pinching upright-growing shoots back to an outward growing bud or secondary shoot. Pinching is actually a type of bench cut. Pinching should be done in late June and/or July while shoots are actively growing.

There is a new method of pruning first-year trees that seems very promising. Do not remove the top few shoots with poor crotches. Instead, head the top several shoots by half in early June. Growth of the headed shoots is suppressed and growth of the lower shoots that have wide crotches is encouraged. The small "bush" in the tree center is removed during the winter.

The First Winter: At the end of the first season, some trees will have many desirable limbs, and others will have limbs on only one side or may have vertical growth habits and upright leaders. The first winter is the most critical time to select branches that will develop into a strong framework capable of carrying heavy crops in the future.

If trees were pruned during their first summer, very little pruning will be needed during their first winter. The trees should begin to resemble an open-vase. Remove branches on the trunk below the 20-inch height. Remove branches that form angles of less than 45 degrees with the trunk. Branches with narrow crotches are weak because bark extends into the crotch, and branches may split from the trunk. Narrow crotches are also susceptible to winter injury, cytospora canker, and borers. Unless they form a strong, wide crotch, remove 1 of any 2 limbs of equal size that tend to divide the tree and form a Y (Figure 7).

Since all peach trees do not grow alike, there are at least two basic methods of developing an open-center tree that has a strong framework, and they seem to be equally effective. The most common method involves selecting 3 primary branches with wide crotch angles and that are spaced evenly around the trunk. Some trees will not have 3 acceptable limbs at the end of the first season, but excellent trees can be developed with only 2 main branches. Sometimes, 4 to 6 desirable limbs will grow at one point on the trunk. It is best to remove all but 3 of these branches because there will eventually be 3 dominant limbs and the others will be squeezed out.

Another method of developing an open center form is to head the tree at 3 to 4 feet at planting; this is often preferable with the larger nursery trees. Select 3 to 5 limbs that are distributed evenly on the trunk and spaced 4 to 6 inches apart vertically. After the first year's growth, peach trees with 3 main branches at 24 to 30 inches above ground look quite different from those that have 4 or 5 main limbs extending to 4 feet. However, as these trees grow for several years and are trained to the open-center, they will appear much more uniform.

Avoid horizontal limbs on young trees because they will bend downward with the weight of a crop and will eventually need to be removed to allow equipment to move under the tree. Watersprouts (upright shoots developing along the upper side of a branch) will also arise along the top of a horizontal limb. An angle of 40 to 50 degrees from the vertical is most desirable. Remove root suckers, downward growing shoots, and strong vertical shoots that shade the tree center. Keep the tree balanced by shortening the strongest branch. Retain as much of the tree as possible, including the smaller side shoots growing from the selected main branches. Head the scaffold limbs above an outward-growing secondary shoot to encourage a spreading growth habit.

Sometimes a tree will produce a strong shoot from the soil line and the rest of the tree is weak or dead. If the shoot originates below the bud union, it is the rootstock and the tree should be replaced. If it develops from above the bud union, it should be pruned to a strong shoot. Secondary limbs with wide crotches developing at the appropriate height on these shoots can be selected as scaffold limbs.

The Second Summer: Although it is not necessary, it is highly desirable to prune trees during the second summer to improve light penetration into the tree center. Shoots developing on the trunk below the scaffold branches should be removed in June. Remove vigorous upright shoots developing near the tree center. By late June, when secondary shoots develop on terminal shoots, the upright portion of the terminal shoot can be pinched just above an outward growing secondary shoot. This will encourage the spreading growth of the tree and direct growth into the desired secondary shoot. Summer pruning should be completed by early July.

The Second Winter: Peach trees that have grown well for two years may be 5 to 7 feet tall, 6 to 8 feet wide, and have trunks 3 to 6 inches in diameter. Such trees will also have numerous flower buds, and, if pruned moderately, may produce 20 to 40 pounds of fruit during the third summer. Excessive pruning will reduce yield the third summer.

Each tree should have 2 or more well-spaced, scaffold branches with wide crotch angles. If this is not the case, try to select appropriate scaffold branches and remove all others. Remove all large watersprouts that tend to grow through the tree center. Scaffolds that have made less than 30 inches of growth and have several side branches should be pruned to leave 2 or 3 well-spaced side branches. Shoots developing on the lower sides of scaffold limbs should be removed. If these shoots fruit, the extra weight will pull the scaffolds down so that they interfere with herbicide application. Retain most of the other one-year growth throughout the tree.

Sometimes 2 shoots of equal size will develop near the end of a scaffold branch and will form a V crotch. Such crotches are weak, and one shoot should be eliminated. The terminal ends of scaffold branches often grow upright. In the event that a scaffold develops a vertical orientation near its tip, it may be turned out by pruning to an outward growing secondary shoot. This type of bench cut is preferably performed during the summer but can be performed during the winter.

Importantly is to make a happy place for the pollinators and mix your peacghes to cross pollinate