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Busybody activities & shortcuts

I think gardeners sometimes get caught up in doing things that don't need to be done, especially if they don't want to do them. So much of what one reads about gardening, the standard advice, are so often just busybody activities that are unnecessary if they don't appeal to the individual gardener.

Ever since I realized I didn't *have to* look at sheared plants, I've liked Mums a lot better. If they are deadheaded like other plants, as they bloom, they bloom for a LONG TIME. It's strange to have a plant that everyone seems to feel compelled to delay its' bloom time. Why not enjoy the whole natural bloom cycle?

I want to understand this beyond my general dislike of a sheared appearance and others' appreciation of it. Is it the need to control anything controllable? What is your philosophy on Mum shearing?

Then there's the variation in style regarding winter interest vs. cleaning up every dead leaf. Some just let the leaves fall where they may and consider it part of the mulch, some would trim each plant at ground level and rake the mulch "clean." Both camps have beautiful gardens.

Then there's the crape myrtles that are beheaded at this time every year. My Mom loves it, I prefer an unmolested tree/shrub, especially if having the beheaded one means more work for me. I'll deadhead flowers in a blissful state all day, but although I do a great job, I really don't enjoy trimming shrubs or errant tree branches.

Some people enjoy some activities more than others. What activities do you regard as busybody and/or unappealing? What are your shortcuts?

Comments (6)

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    11 years ago

    when i moved from suburbia.. and 2/3 of an acre.. to 5 acres .. two things happened..

    one.. i left behind [and mind you .. i took 1650 pots] many of the plants that needed foo foo care ...

    and secondly ... i let things .. well.. do their own thing ... and if they want to flop.. so be it.. and if they only bloom once.. so be it.. i cant deadhead 5 acres ...

    and things like mums.. well .. they dont like sand w/o irrigation.. so they didnt make it very long... if i even took them.. i dont recall ...

    i say.. do what you want to do.. and the heck with anyone who suggests their way is better ... a pox on them .. [and i think that is one of the big problems with tv shows like victory garden.. or martha ... they tend to imply.. theirs is the ONLY way ..]

    ken

  • gardenweed_z6a
    11 years ago

    I've reached the point where I agree with Ken--let it be... let it be. Whatever it wants to do, I let it do its thing. If a particular perennial needs special attention, I note that in my garden diary and take care of it. Otherwise, it's left to Mother Nature as far as attention goes. I enjoy gardening but don't want to wage war with plants/shrubs/trees--just enjoy them & hope they bring joy to those who pass by.

    I'm loving that the pansies I planted back in April self-seeded and are blooming again...

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    11 years ago

    My personal inclination is to have things very well groomed, weed free, 100% deadheaded. Ideally, that is what appeals to me. But in the real world, I am not capable of achieving that. I try to choose plants and then plant them in such a way, that when I can't keep up with it, it will bother me less.

    I am fortunate that the level of grooming doesn't detract from my enjoyment of growing plants. I love to see a plant grow and bloom regardless, so there is always a basic level of pleasure with the garden. My pleasure is that much more when I can keep up with it.

    I do enjoy Mums and they seem to do well in my garden. I find them an easy plant in many ways. They are not fussy, they don't seem to attract bugs. I haven't had trouble with disease. They are very easy to propagate and get more. They stay looking good all season and then bloom when little else is still blooming. I've let them go in a few seasons, to just grow and bloom at their own pace and I haven't enjoyed that. This year, I was determined to trim them back at the right time and I really like the way they look when I can do that. They are more uniform, compact, with many more blooms on them and are not flopping on their neighbors. So I will be inclined to continue to make the effort to trim them back.

    As for cutting back dead plants in the Fall vs the Spring. I would really like to cut everything back to the ground in the Fall and put down a layer of leaves and grass clippings on every bed. It never works out that way. I always end up having a huge clean up job in the spring. I was planning to try to do more clean up this Fall but many things are still growing in my garden, so I am waiting to see if I will have a window of opportunity before any snow falls, to do that.

    Activities that appeal to me? I would say that every garden chore appeals to me when I have the time and energy to do it. I don't mind digging, I enjoy pruning shrubs, deadheading flowers, watering by hand with a hose. Starting seeds is fun in measured amounts. Weeding, or laying down mulch can be very zen like but I prefer to share that job and have company. I do end up having help with the garden, so if I didn't, I might feel differently, but I doubt it. And my property is only a 1/4 of an acre, which makes a big difference.

    Shortcuts....I use a lot of mulch on cardboard to keep the weeds down.

  • rusty_blackhaw
    11 years ago

    I never trim my crepe myrtles back until spring, when I can assess how much stem dieback there's been over the winter by seeing where the new growth is sprouting.

    Obviously this is not usually necessary in zone 8b. :)

  • mistascott
    11 years ago

    Crepe Myrtles may be the most abused trees in the U.S.! They should be pruned in late Winter/Early Spring before emerging from dormancy and never cut back to the trunks, only to 4-6" up the flowering branch from the junction of last year's flowering branch and its supporting branch. Of course, you should also clean up suckers, rubbing branches, dead branches, and the like as well.

    Mum shearing/pinching: Some do it because their mums would bloom in August otherwise and they are typically associated with Fall not Summer (some un-pinched mums will bloom in Spring in very warm climates where they put out vigorous Spring growth and get tricked by the longer nights!). Others do it to prevent flopping. Others do it to encourage branching and hence a denser bloom. I think overall, it is beneficial but there is no harm in letting them go natural either.

    As for cutting down the perennials in Fall vs. Spring, I think most people do a little of both. Some absolutely must be cleaned up (black soggy hosta leaves are snail egg heaven). Some can wait. I only remove what must be removed to prevent disease, pests, etc.

  • hostaholic2 z 4, MN
    11 years ago

    I don't get to uptight about having everything pinched, staked, cut back etc. I leave most things standing through the winter, only cutting back/cleaning up any things that were diseased or had bug issues. We live on 8 acres, of that 4 has been restored to prairie, the other 4 is yard and gardens including a very large veggie garden. Time to be anal about my gardens is not available. That's not to say I don't do some deadheading and cutting back throughout the growing season. I just don't get myself stressed out if it's not perfection.

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