Most miniature trees and shrubs are best when allowed to keep their natural habits and shapes, and pruned as little as possible. Of course, damaged or broken branches should be cut away at planting time, or at the end of the winter. Unwanted suckers, and any growth that is out of line, ungainly, or unattractive can be removed at any time. Any other pruning should be done in earliest spring before new leaves appear. There is one exception. Spring-flowering varieties that bloom on last year’s wood are pruned immediately after flowering. Fall pruning of any type can stimulate new growth that may winter-kill.
Some evergreens, for example the mugho pine, are encouraged to branch and keep more compact by breaking off half of the partially matured “candles” at the ends of the branches. Evergreen or deciduous shrubs sometimes are grown in formal shapes and, like hedges, trimmed regularly in spring and summer.
Some summer-and fall-flowering shrubs, referred to as “cut-back” or “die-back” types, are perfectly root-hardy although the tops are likely to be partly, or completely, killed by winter. But they make new growth each spring on which normal flowers and fruit are produced. Some of these may grow too tall and awkward when the branches are killed back only part way. To keep them small and shapely, cut all stems back to mere stubs in earliest spring.
Insects and Diseases
We’ve never had to hover over our garden constantly with duster and spray gun, and I hope we never will. It’s a dull, tiresome, unrewarding occupation—confusing and frustrating, too. There are so many different kinds of pests, with so many different habits, appetites, and life cycles, infesting so many different types of plants in so many different ways, that only an expert such as the county agricultural agent, or “plant-doctor” Cynthia Westcott, can keep them straight. And even Miss Westcott asks, “Is this spray necessary?”
Don’t misunderstand. We do have pests and diseases on our garden plants; and we do fight them; and we’ve been known to mutter about the injustice of it all. But we try not to let them take all of the joy out of summer gardening.
Two or three times during the growing season we fill the tank of the small pressure sprayer with a solution of “all-purpose” garden spray. Everything in the garden gets the treatment, including shrubs and trees we can reach without a tall ladder.
We also wage annual war against a few familiar enemies as soon as they appear. In February we cut off twigs encircled by the brownish egg bands of tent caterpillars. When the nests appear in spring we wipe them out with rags or crumpled paper and spray the surrounding area with DDT. When cankerworms are all over the place (as they were in the spring of 1961), DDT protects the foliage of small plants, particularly our precious miniature trees and shrubs. We discovered we couldn’t possibly cope with the gigantic shade trees of the woods.
We have very few Japanese beetles since we started grub-proofing all cultivated land. Any time after the ground thaws in spring, and through October, we spray or dust with chlordane. Five pounds of 5 per cent chlordane dust will treat a thousand square feet, can be bought for about two dollars, and can be applied in an hour with a good-sized duster. This treatment is effective for three years. The few beetles that start working over the roses in midsummer quickly succumb to DDT.
The infrequent appearances of aphids are met with a dousing of nicotine sulfate solution, and the same treatment is used for some kinds of scale, although others require dormant oil spray. During one very hot summer, mites yellowed some of our evergreens. Aramite, used faithfully according to label directions, routed them. We do keep either sulfur or Karathane on hand to combat mildew on plants such as roses where it really matters. For any more complicated or unidentifiable problems, we rely on the advice of our friendly county agent and his staff.