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December 2011 Articles

Plant trees now through midwinter
USDA and Feld Entertainment, Inc., Reach Settlement Agreement
Statement by Bob stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation, Regarding
• Winter, early spring are good times to prune most trees, shrubs
Cattle on Feed Report Trends are a Key
Effect of Supplemental Trace Minerals From Injection on Health and Performance o
EPA's Crushing Regulatory Burdens Threaten Family Farms
Tight Stocks, Strong Demand continue for Corn Market
2011 Food and Health Survey - Consumer Attitudes Towards Food Safety, Nutrition
GIPSA Rules
Compare Cost of Raising Replacements Versus Purchasing
Corn research pays dividends for La. Farmers
Vow not to gain weight over the holiday season
LSU AgCenter nutritionist gives advice about diabetes
American Tree Farm System
Statement by Bob Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation, Regarding
Agricultural Secretary Vilsack Highlights the 150th Anniversary of USDA
AFBF: Farm Youth Labor Rule Overreaches DOL Authority
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces $50 Million for Gulf Coast Restoration
Notes from Germany
Cutting Corners
Just Rambling
Inaugural WTC agricultural committee meets in New Orleans
Just Rambling
Scholarship Donkey
Horse owners advised to be on the lookout for infectious disease
Early wheat harvest helps farmers avoid floods
FORAGE UPDATE: HAY STOCKS AND PASTURES:
Blueberries offer health benefits
Arkansas Agriculture Newsletters Livestock Market News - Situation and Outlook
La. farmers face huge losses from flood, drought damage
Bring butterflies with buddleias
AFBF Estimates 3.6M Ag Acres Hit by Floods
AFBF: 3% Withholding Tax Needs Repeal
Replacement Heifers - A Strategy for Success
Statement by Boy Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation, Regarding
Ninth annual Water Fest draws 300 students
New rules facing catfish industry
USDA changes safe pork cooking temperatures
Corn Supply Tight Despite Projected Record Crop
Stay Away from high-calorie, caffeine-containing drinks in hot weather
Air Quality and the Broiler Industry
Turkey gnats pose nuisance to people, but threat to chickens
Coping with Drought
DROUGHT AID AVAILABLE FOR LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS
Cutting Corners: Summer Smoothies
Just Rambling
Horse Expert Lists Benefits of Horse Ownership
Micellaneous Horse Trivia
La. cattle producers vote to continue checkoff
TAHC to Discontinue Brucellosis Testing at Markets
Drought bigger concern than flood for agriculture 2011
Saddle Pad Tips
2011 Food and Farm Facts Now Available
Insect, disease control critical to successful pecan production
Lantanas offer summer flowers, attract butterflies
Azalea problems answered
Verses by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Gulf seafood remains safe, expert says
Great Orators
Keep hydrated, keep safe during hot weather
Weater Challenges Reflected in Latest USDA Crop Report
Proper watering is important during dry weather
Armadillos don't have to ruin your landscape
Tracking Milk and Egg Trends
Energy Cost Run-up Drives Retail Food Prices in Second Quarter
Common Diseases Affecting Small Poultry Flocks
Drought Likely to Impact Cattle Markets for Years
Horse Pasture, Seeds Help Your Pasture Management
Why some people are mosquito magnets
Cutting Corners: Squash Fritters
Just Rambling
Just Rambling
Trichomoniasis in Cattle
Tractor Safety
10 Tips for Preventing Clinical Exacerbation of heaves in Horses
AFBF Outlines Steps to Ease Regulatory Nightmare
Heat Stress in Livestock
Avoiding Heat Stress in Youth Livestock Projects
Biodiesel workshop shows how it's done
Hay bale load restrictions waived to help Texas ranchers
Why We Say the Things We Say
Year-to-Date U.S. Cattle Slaughter Rate
Approval of Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act Urged
America's Heartland Launches Seventh Season on Public TV
Feeding the Herd through a Drought
Higher Energy Prices Hitting Farmers' Bottom Line
Tight Supply Situation Still Driving Corn Market
Horse Facts:
Fig trees can enhance landscapes
Horse Trivia:
Another Look at Production Records
National Poultry Inprovement Plan (NPIP)
Don't let poison ivy get you
Trivia:
Love him or loathe him, he nailed this one right on the head.......
Cutting Corners: Santa Fe Rice Salad
Just Rambling
Students participate in summer institute
Cook meats carefully to avoid illnesses
"Signs of Planting"
Take care of your crape myrtle trees
Drought may affect deer
3 LSU AgCenter administrators to receive honorary FFA degree
Trees need special care during drought
August USDA Report Confirms Tight Corn Crop
AFBF Pleased by DOT Guidance on Ag Transportation
Blackleg May be a Concern in Drought Conditions
Cull Cow Strategy for the Fall
The Things I Know
Sweet potato growers learn latest at LSU AgCenter field day
Arkansas Agriculture Newsletters Livestock Market News - Situation and Outlook
Valuation Measures for Forage
OUTLOOK IS FOR FEEDSTUFFS TO REMAIN VERY EXPENSIVE
Livestock Market News - Week Ending August 26, 2011
Did You Know?
The First Year - LSU AgCenter Hill Farm Research Station Broiler Demonstration H
Strain: LDAF is more efficient
Drift roses offer new landscape options
Cutting Corners: Banana Pudding Cupcakes

(120 articles found)

Archives by Months

Winter, early spring are good times to prune most trees, shrubs

Winter, early spring are good times to prune most trees, shrubs By Dan Gill LSU AgCenter Horticulturist
Pruning is one gardening job that often neglected because gardeners are not exactly sure what to do. There is a great deal of confusion about how to prune, when to do it and even why pruning is done. As a result, pruning is often delayed until radical and extensive pruning is required. Now is an excellent time to evaluate your landscape for pruning that needs to be done, since many plants can be pruned now through February.
Pruning is something that you just have to get used to doing. Some plants won’t grow just the way we want them to, and so will need to be shaped. There will always be plants that grow larger than we anticipated and need to be regularly pruned to control their size. Dead branches, diseased tissue and insect infestations may be pruned for the health of the plant. Then there are special situations such as topiary, espalier and bonsai where careful, selective pruning is used to completely alter the plant’s normal growth patterns. The list goes on. Pruning is simply a part of regular gardening activities.
A wide variety of plants may be pruned during the winter and early spring, including most woody plants such as trees and shrubs, hedges, screens and foundation plantings that are not grown for their flowers. Both evergreen and deciduous plants may be pruned.
For trees and shrubs that are grown for their flowers, you must consider when they bloom before you decide to prune them at this time.
You should avoid extensive pruning of spring-flowering trees and shrubs (those that bloom from January through April), such as Japanese magnolia, star magnolia, silver bell, parsley hawthorn, Taiwan flowering cherry, quince, azalea, Indian hawthorn, deutzia, philadelphus, spirea, banana shrub, wisteria and camellia. These plants have already set their flower buds for spring bloom, and any pruning done before they bloom will reduce the floral display these plants will produce.
On the other hand, summer-flowering trees and shrubs, such as crape myrtle, vitex, althea, oleander and abelia, do not have flower buds set on them now. These plants set their flower buds and will bloom on the new growth they produce in spring and early summer. As a result, they may be pruned during winter and early spring and will still bloom well.
A few shrubs, including gardenia, hydrangea, some old garden roses and climbing roses, are in a category of their own. They bloom in early summer, but they have already produced their flower buds or flowering shoots for next year. Extensive pruning from now until they bloom will greatly reduce or eliminate flowering next year. To avoid problems, prune these plants in midsummer, soon after they have finished blooming.
Once you have decided to prune, the real dilemma is how exactly to do it. Most gardeners feel they don’t know what they’re doing, and they’re afraid of damaging or killing the plants they prune.
There is no simple answer. A book cannot tell you exactly how you should prune a particular plant in your landscape. Each plant is different, the desires and needs of each gardener are different, and each situation is unique. Advice such as “try to maintain the natural shape of the plant” is good, but not very helpful. You can, however, at least make sure you prune at the proper time. You can also become familiar with the basic pruning techniques we use to shape and control plants.
Heading back involves shortening shoots or branches and stimulates growth and branching. Heading back is often used to control the size of plants, encourage fullness, rejuvenate older plants and maintain specific shapes as in topiary and espalier. Often overdone by some gardeners, careless heading back can destroy the natural form of a plant in situations where the natural shape is desirable.
Shearing is a specialized type of pruning that is done with a pruning tool called shears, which look like large scissors. A variation on heading back, this technique is used to create geometric shapes, espalier or topiary common in formal landscape designs. Shearing should not be used for general pruning purposes such as controlling size. The result will be clipped, formal shapes that require a lot of work to maintain.
Thinning out removes shoots or branches at their point of origin, either back to a branch fork or back to the main trunk. Thinning cuts can control the size and shape of a plant while doing a better job of maintaining the plant’s natural shape. Thinning cuts do not stimulate growth and often work more with the plant’s natural growth patterns to correct problems.
The only way to gain confidence in pruning is to do it. Practice makes perfect, as that saying goes. The first step to gaining confidence is to ask, and fully answer, two questions before pruning begins. First, why, specifically, do you feel this plant needs to be pruned? Or, what specific goal do you want to accomplish? What problem do you need to correct? If you can’t come up with a good reason to prune a plant, leave it alone. Second, how do you need to prune the plant to accomplish the goal? Study the plant carefully and decide what specifically needs to be done before you begin.
It is unlikely that you will kill or permanently damage a plant under most circumstances, even if you do something wrong when you prune. So, grit your teeth and go for it. The more you prune, the better and more confident you will become.

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