Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Yarden maintenance schedule for March, 1 by coleup

coleup wrote:
ssgardener I trimmed my liriope yesterday with a sharp sissors I use for garden work. I put my hand at ground level around the base of each clump gathering all of the leaves into my hand like a bouguet and then made a cut just below my hand. Yes, they do look ridiculous! The liriope version of a 'bowl' cut...To soften the effect, I spread the trimmings around the base as a 'mulch'. Be careful not to cut off those new green erect shoots. The variegated ones are much more well-behaved than "monkey grass' .

Where I have monkey grass ( a way less desirable form of liriope) growing down a bank that ends in a paved culvert, I don't do anything to at all. Some years I do rake it to get all of the leaves pointing in the downhill direction. I fancy it looks like a cascade that way (and in my dreams it is a cascade of that japaneze forest grass I'd love to have!). I also use the technique of raking all of my 'vining' ground covers like variegated vinca and wintercreeper in the same direction and then trimming the edges or spillovers to keep in check. The Virginia creeper that I've trained to grow along the top of an old wooden privacy fence gets a hair cut on both sides of the fence.

I do have three sweet autunm clematis vines on trellises but have never cut them back (out of fear ). With the mild winter much of each of them stayed green, leaves and all. Any tips or advice on these?

Sallyg, I've found that a folding saw we take on camping trips works well for trimming grasses. I tried old electric knife blades but the serrations kept hanging up in the dried stems. I use it to divide up clumps of stuff, too. Yes, definitely save those fingers as there is no good grip on just the blades! Thirty five years ago, an old timer told me the time to plant peas around here was Valentines Day...gets them up and growing and harvested pre our heat spells. Also, a bit of succession planting maybe a week apart extends the harvest and they are done long before warm season crops like corn, melons etc go in...Nothing like fresh local salad and so easy!

On the Knockout Roses, I'm reminded that they are still under patent. Also, several sites say they do not need the same sort of pruning yearly as regular roses. So, just wondering why you trimmed yours back other than that I know you and the rest of us try to grow more plant than the space available will allow! Evidently, this year should be a big year for Knockout Rose trees! If the trunks the Knockouts are grafted onto high up prove to be hardy may give some very interesting possibilities for some space challenged gardeners to have blooms higher up above existing landscape...hmmm.

http://www.gardeningblog.net/2011/08/13/knockout-rose-tree/



Just a reminder to us all that Mid Atlantic covers USDA Zones 5 to 8 which is a great variation in timing for planting or pruning etc. I'm lucky in that I get to see a thousand yards in my area each day on my paper route to compare what is happening or needs to be done in my yard.

This message was edited Mar 12, 2012 10:39 AM

This message was edited Mar 12, 2012 10:42 AM