I RECEIVED THE following letter this week and my first thought was here and only here!
Dear Andrew: I inherited two cherry trees and a plum tree in a boundary line adjustment. They have not been pruned in years. Your articles have said now is the time, but some YouTube videos have said it is better to prune these fruit tree in the summer. Which is best for our climate?
Sharon
Dear Sharon: When I say (wrote) that now is the time to prune your fruit trees I am only ever talking about here and only here. With that said, most every place in America your cool temperate fruit tree should be pruned during the winter months. But let me get back to my main point.
Our weather here on the Olympic Peninsula is not only unique but it is also never hot and never cold. Now I know through my classes that many of you who moved here think it’s cold, while others have complained that the last summer heat wave was indeed hot. Well, it is not about you.
Plant wise, it is never hot nor is it ever cold here on our lovely Peninsula, provided that you have the right plant in the right spot.
Here, our weather is perfect horticulturally. Because our weather is so ideal and unique, I am always just writing about the Olympic Peninsula and what to do here and now.
Not last year at this time.
Not next year at this time.
Here and now only.
No individual day or week is exactly like last year’s same day or week.
When I write my gardening advice column it is always based on this week or month, given our current weather pattern at the time. This is why I sounded the “pruning alarm” the other week because after a couple of weeks with no frost, the sap was beginning to rise and fruit buds were starting to swell. So not good for the end of January.
Also I only write about this unique area we live in. Not Portland, not Eastern Washington, not even Seattle, because they are not us.
So many times, in past classes, some student has come up with a garden book or garden column saying,”Look right here, it says do this some other time!”
Well yeah, that was written in Texas or Wisconsin or New York — not here. I will never forget my first year writing this column (26 years ago) when on the cover of the insert was gardening guru Martha Stewart with the headline “PLANT BULBS NOW!”
The headline for my column that same day was “BUY BULBS NOW BUT DO NOT PLANT THEM YET!”
Why the difference? Because I only write about here and only here. Our weather being so incredibly mild and never cold means our bulbs can emerge earlier than they normally would, so one must delay their planting regardless of whatever other books or authors tell you.
The same with YouTube. Especially YouTube!
A second opinion is great as long as it is credible, reliable and from the area.
So Sharon, the answer is prune now, actually yesterday. And to everyone; remember, I contradict gardening books all the time because I am writing only for here and only right now!
And here and now … stay well all!
Since we have just mentioned the past classes I have taught and talked about pruning, let me offer an experiment to my readers. I have not taught a gardening class since the college canceled them just over two years ago.
However, weekly I get asked if I will be teaching again. Well, I have a wonderful new venue, a cabana on the bluff between Sequim and Port Angeles. So next week, Saturday Feb. 26 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. I will be offering a comprehensive class on pruning, including a physical demonstration and tour. The cost is $30 per person including all handouts, room, chair and desk. One should wear outside shoes and clothing, and remember it is wet out this time of year. Vaccination and booster status is required and we will be separated. The class is open to the first 12 people. Please call me at (360) 477- 9075 for complete details and enrollment. If the number is large, we may hold a Thursday class as well.
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Andrew May is a freelance writer and ornamental horticulturist who dreams of having Clallam and Jefferson counties nationally recognized as “Flower Peninsula USA.” Send him questions c/o Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362, or email news@peninsuladailynews.com (subject line: Andrew May).
