Reflections on Life, Death, and Renewal Pruning

The snowdrops are early this year.

This week I attended the wake of my brother-in-law's grandmother, who passed away at the advanced age of 99. It was one of the nicest wakes I've been to because her life was celebrated. Family and friends told stories and caught up with each other. It got me thinking.

As the snowdrops pop out of the ground with the recent warm weather I am reminded of resilience. Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) manufacture their own antifreeze. We're due to get snow and below freezing temperatures, but they'll be just fine. Plants are tough buggers. They want to survive and many go to extraordinary lengths to do so. Remember that tree with a phone wire growing through it? We've all seen one.

Perhaps because we work with living things that gardeners may have a different perspective on death. We've all killed a plant, many times for no discernible reason. Many of us compost, seeing firsthand the wonder of dead plant material transform into nutrients for the living. Perhaps since we've had our share of loss, I see the ending of life as a natural state. We don't have children because after several miscarriages, we decided we had given it our best shot and stopped. I went on a lot of walks on my lunch hours during that time and I really began to stop and take notice. I really do smell the roses. And the witchhazel, sweet bay magnolia, violets and the bruised foliage of spicebush. Why? Because it's a feast for the senses. They are living, growing things of such beauty that by soaking it in, I, in turn am renewed.

Speaking of renewal, I am reminded of pruning, the art of cutting away. We often use two terms when we refer to pruning - rejuvenation and renewal. To rejuvenate a shrub you cut all of it back to within a few inches of the soil. Some plants thrive when you prune this way and others so resent it that they die. Renewal pruning is where you thin a plant by about a third, again cutting the branches at the base. This allows sprightly new growth, opens up the structure, and shapes the plant.

I could have come up with a list of resolutions for 2012. However, I think instead I will do a bit of renewal pruning. What kind of clutter can I cut away to open up my life and allow for new growth?  

Step Away from the Pruners, Loppers, Shears, and Saws...Nice and Quietly

Fall has arrived with crisp nights and cool days in Chicagoland. As folk are itching to get back in the yard now that temperatures are reasonable, I suggest restraint.  Now is NOT the time to prune.

Pruning encourages new growth, especially side shoots. At this point in the season, if you prune, those little baby new tips won't have hardened off enough to survive frost. Now our average frost date tends to hover around October 20 or so, depending on who you ask. Will new shoots harden off in a month? Not really. If these tender darlings get zinged with frost, oftentimes they will turn black or brown.  Now you don't want your yew bushes covered in brown bits just in time for holiday entertaining, do you? So back off.

See that flower bud on this viburnum? Put those pruners down!

Also, if you prune now, you could cut off the flowers of spring blooming shrubs especially lilac, viburnum, and forsythia. What's the point of lilacs with no flowers?  I know that the landscaper crews are out and about trimming away, but trust  me, sit on your hands. Have a cup of tea on the patio with the newspaper and enjoy the migrating birds.

This year, think about leaving up some of your perennials. 'Sacrilege!' you may say, but really, what are you going to look at through four to six months of winter? Great white sheets of snow? Yes, cut back the perennials if they have had fungal problems. This year, peonies have taken a beating from botrytis, so it's best to cut them back and destroy the foliage. If your foliage is clean, though, leave it up. Not only are seedheads attractive in our frosty winter, but they feed the birds. We have left even basil to seed and the juncos thank us for it. There's a whole patch of hosta that has reseeded thanks to the chickadees. Also, dried foliage will help insulate the crown of the plant during our famous frost heaving. In spring, I tend to clip remaining material and let it compost where it sits. I also like to see where plants will reseed such as columbine, hollyhock, and campion.

If you have to do something in the garden - weed. Pull those bad boys before they go to seed and as they are sending nutrients to their roots. A thorough fall weeding can save you a lot of time in the spring.