University of California Marin Master Gardeners extends research-based knowledge and information on home horticulture, pest management, and sustainable landscape practices to Marin residents. The UC Master Gardener Program is a state-wide public service and public outreach program of the University of California Division of Agriculture & Natural Resources.
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Very professional! Great video. I might have made a slightly different color correction choice to ensure more accurate skin tones and sky color, but great content, presentation and pacing!
This must be the best pruning guide out there! You demonstrated everything as well as anyone could. Amateurs take notes, this man knows what he's talking about!
I’m so excited to utilize the tips you described. I see so many beautiful types of birds here in Southern California. I’d like to create the safest environment possible for them to rest, eat and drink from. 🦜
We are fairly sure that if you took similar steps and planted some natives from your part of the world in your garden, you would get the same result over time!
This is without a doubt one of the very best videos I ever have screened on RU-vid. So well explained and demonstrated and no time wasted. This video is precise and concise. Gives me confidence that I can tackle the shrubs and trees at my new rental property. Everyone should watch this video at least twice before tackling their shrubs and trees and making a lot of mistakes. Many, many years ago I tried to trim a whole long row of boxwoods. I must have done it wrong because it totally stunted their growth. They never grew up again. I was horrified and heartbroken. Ever since then, I have been frightened to trim anything.
I’m in Napa and sadly I only have a tiny 20x10 foot backyard but I have a half-barrel pond and a lovely maple tree and a feeder and the birdies come every day but I definitely had less this winter than the previous year.
This was really helpful thank you! I had snippets of information (cut at 45 degrees to encourage growth, different cuts to discourage growth) but this finally put all the pieces together and why to use each one
All i get are huge fat pigeons who make an awful mess eveeywhere ans when i try to discourage them herre as they then nest and the mess and they arent very good mothers , they take all the other birds with them ...
Try looking for native plant nurseries or online seed retailers. Make sure they are seeds native to and suitable for your location. We are not allowed to recommend specific companies or nurseries, unfortunately. Good luck!
Tropical milkweed is non-native to the Bay Area and other temperate locales where it doesn't die back in winter, and may harbor a protozoan parasite of monarch butterflies, Ophryocytis elektroscirrha (OE). OE can travel with the butterflies and become deposited on milkweed leaves. When native milkweeds die back in winter, OE also dies off. When ingested by monarch caterpillars in higher concentrations on leaves that don't go dormant, OE can can cause potentially fatal infections, lower migration success and other issues. It is also believed that the presence of milkweed during the winter migration time can confuse monarchs into breeding at a time when they should be migrating. Thank you for your interest!
Basic rule of pruning is. Get a decent pair of pruners. An anvil pruner will cut better and cleaner and won't let the branch, if thick twist in the pruners. A bypass will spread if the wood is too thick. When I tried anvil I threw out my others and never bought again.
I recently bought a home in the country in eastern Tennessee with a couple of pear trees, a fairly young peach tree, and a cherry tree. The pear trees are probably 10-15 years old and 20-25 feet tall with a "few" central leaders (tree trunks?) on each tree that are way too high for harvesting fruit. My goal is to bring down the trees to about 10 to15 feet so I can reach the fruit with a ladder. Do you have anything regarding on making a major reduction in size? The center growth has (trunks?) about 18" - 20" in circumference at the 5' - 10' level.. By the way, these trees have not been pruned in years. Thank you.
hello, we are sorry but there is no short answer for your question, and it is very difficult to give pruning advice without actually seeing your trees in person. You would basically be trying to halve the current size of your trees, which is a lot! In the best scenario, you would approach this over a few years, selecting branches for removal using releadering cuts to lower the overall height. It's best to make a plan to see what you can achieve each year, over three years or more. Patience is key in situations like these.
Love this video. I wish you'd have one one specific exposures. North facing in the central valley would be my first pick with heavy shade in the winter and scorching hot in the summer. Thanks again for this one. Everyone loves color!
No doubt it is great video on pruning. I request you to make video on 1. cow dung composting, 2. how to avoid complications of organic mulching such as rodents and breading of insects under the mulch. I 'm requesting you because your every step is based on scientific knowledge and logic. Thanks
How much irrelevant rubbish I had to wade through to get to this perfectly concise, yet comprehensive guide. No blabbing on about your house and kids and 2 dogs and how it's summer and lemon lime bitters are a great way to cool down for the first 5 minutes of an 8 minute video, before getting into the actual content only to vaguely brush over the topic at hand. I have saved this as the only pruning guide I think I will ever need as an amateur gardener. Thank-you!!
Living on the coast I attracted three kinds of birds: Pigeons which ate all the birdseed Seagulls which shat all over the garden Starlings which bullied all the smaller birds Suffice to say, I stopped feeding them, landscaped my garden and lo, in came the birds I always wanted!
Birds are amazing--just another reason for me to not eat eggs (as I have a family history of Cancer the choline in eggs is the other). Great video--thank you
Hello, yes the 1/3 rule applies to overall pruning of your plant or tree. If you prune more than a third, your tree may not be able to recover from all the cuts made. It doesn’t matter what cuts you make. A tree has to generate enough resources and energy to seal up the cuts you make. This is also why we only prune trees that are healthy and unstressed.
