The Importance of Pruning

Remember my post about marigolds? I bought the 20 cent packet of marigolds from walmart, so did KD. We both planted them and they sprung up. But, neither KD, nor I snipped the stems when they started to grow tall. Well, KDs garden looks like a rain forest. The marigolds are so tall, and there aren't that many buds. (not to mention that the caterpillars seem to love the flower buds). They look unrefined and haphazard. Not at all what you want to look at.

What we should have done was snip the growing stem of the marigold when it reached the desired height. This would have encourage the plant to send out side stems and eventually have more flowers. I will post a picture soon.

Next time...

Tip: I read that September is a great time to buy plants in nurseries- lots of sales. I will be hitting up the Armstrong to see if this is true. Do you know?

First Figs of the Season!

Well, here they are: Figs. There were only about 15 on the tree, so there are not too many to go around. They are pretty tasty, though, I wish they were a tad sweeter. I figure, next year the tree with be teeming and the tree will be 2.5 years old.

So, after I eat the rest of the figs, I will prune the tree(!) and hope to encourage a bushier tree next year. I have read some posts about how to prune, but it seems a bit crazy to me. However, since there are only 5 branches, I suppose I can't screw it up too bad...

Has anyone ever pruned a fig, dwarf fig, or any other dwarf tree varietal. Should I do it after I pick all the fruit, or next spring?