As the temperatures rise many people are anxious to get outside to tackle yard and garden projects. Although it is too early for many tasks, pruning is something that you can be doing now. Late winter is great time to prune. The branches of trees and shrubs are easy to see without the leaves and pruning cuts will heal quickly when plants begin to come out of dormancy. Broken branches and diseases like cankers and black knot are easily seen to be removed.
Avoid pruning any spring and early summer flowering shrubs like forsythia and lilacs otherwise you will be snipping off some of this years blossoms. It best to wait until after bloom to trim these. Other shrubs and trees can be pruned now without affecting flowering. Now is also a good time to prune fruit trees, but be sure to finish any oak trimming by the end of March to reduce the risk of oak wilt.
Each year, Let’s Get Growing offers a fantastic keynote speaker and this year is no exception. Saturday, March 3rd we welcome Lee E. Frelich, Director of the University of Minnesota Center for Forest Ecology as he presents “Climate Change in Minnesota Ecosystems”. The presentation will start with a brief history of the science of climate change, followed by the projected impacts at global and local scales. We will explore how a warming climate will interact with several environmental factors, including deer, invasive species, storms, fires, droughts and habitat loss, to influence the future of Minnesota’s forests and prairies.