Litany of questions from first year gardener

13 years ago

Good morning friends,

Last year I planted 4 flower beds in my back yard. I've got a range of pretty low-maintenance plants. I do have some questions, as I know in a few weeks I may have to pull the trigger on getting to work back there:

1. Green velvet boxwoods: I have read online that in order to get nicer, bushier boxwoods you should pinch off the ends of the shoots as they climb toward the sky, so that the lateral buds will grow instead. Does this apply to every shoot on the bush or just the tallest center shoot of each plant?

2. Coneflowers: Do coneflowers only come back each year because their seeds fall to the ground from the older dead plants in the fall/winter? I ask because I put some of that black weed guard material down underneath my multch, and I was thinking maybe the seeds wouldn't be able to fall all the way down into the soil.

3. Knock-out roses: I was told to cut these back to about 8 inches tall in the spring. The only reason I was given for this was to control the overall size of the bush. Does this jive with what others here would do? Originally I had planned on not really taking much off the bushes which are about 2 feet tall right now.

4. Little zebra grasses: Two questions, A) I bought three of these but planted them in one mound as opposed to spacing them out by 18 inches as I was told to do. Is this going to be a major problem? B) Do I need to cut these down to the ground in a few weeks?

5. Hinoki false cypress: Are there any simple rules to follow for pruning this plant? During its first season in the ground last year, some of the lower areas turned brown and I pinched off the dead brown bits, but other than that I have not touched it.

That's it for now! Thanks a lot. I'm new to this board but I am loving the vibe,

Jonathon

Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
hey jon ...

for me.. i would prefer one issue per post ...

the chamacyparis ... is a conifer ... we NEVER PINCH conifers ... there is a conifer forum should wish to learn more ... however.. we do PRUNE out dead or browned branches ...

and if you really have the gardening bug.. may as well start learning the latin names now.. its much easier to start at the beginning.. rather than going back and learning 20 years worth of names.. like i did ... i am referring to what you called a cypress.. which it isnt ...

and please.. NEVER use landscape fabric ever again ... trust me .. one minute after you laid it down.. and covered it.. a weed seed blew in on top of it.. so almost immediately with was worthless ... i will speculate that most of us.. way back when.. ended up having to go back in a dig it out ...

whether seeds will germinate on top is left to speculation ... and even if they do.. we can not tell if it will be able to get roots thru it ... you are just going to have to wait and see ...

i dont do boxwood.. as i have little or no interest in something that needs to be SHEARED once or twice a year ... sooner or later.. life gets in the way of that level of work in my experience.. good luck with that.. but again.. we dont PINCH them .... i will leave the process to others ...

i hope your zeal for gardening continues ... you have some pretty good hard to kill plants to start with.. which is a good place to learn ...

good luck

ken
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
13 years ago
1) Boxwoods, like many broadleaved evergreen shrubs, respond to pruning by generating new growth. Typically these are pruned (rather than 'pinched' - stems are a bit hard for pinching) in a light, overall treatment to create a densely foliaged plant or sheared if creating a hedge effect. The best time to do this is when the plant is starting to produce new growth in spring. Any longer shoots growing vertically can always be removed if desired.

2) Coneflowers, Echinacea, are considered perennials and should come back each year from the mother plant. Some newer introductions are not as reliably perennial as others but seeds of these - usually hybrids - may not be true to type. The ability of the coneflowers to return each year will be determined in part by soil drainage - well-draining soils, especially in winter, are preferred. Soggy soil conditions seem to limit its ability to perennialize successfully. And FWIW, most gardeners consider weed or landscape fabric more of a pain than a help - a good mulch should provide the same amount of weed suppression and allow better interaction with the soil surface.

3)IME, Knock out roses require minimal pruning. They are considered something of a groundcover/shrub type rose and generally grow wider than tall. It certainly doesn't hurt to cut them back - roses generally respond to pruning by producing more flowering and cutting back will create a more compact and tidier habit.

4) Hinokis(Chamaecyparis obtusa cvts.) - in fact most conifers - require minimal pruning. Hinokis often generate some interior browing of the foliage and this can easily be removed just by brushing off. Otherwise, I'd skip any further pruning except for the removal of any dead or damaged branches.
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ninamarie
13 years ago
You should space out your grasses. Otherwise, they will just compete with each other, and none will look very good.
Ornamental grasses look small at the beginning, but you will be surprised how quickly they will fill the spot.
j0novision
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks gang, some great information here. I'll start using the latin names, for sure. Have a great day. I promise to wait at least another 1.5 weeks before touching anything, although it is indeed very tempting.
arbordayle
13 years ago
Knockout roses don't need to be pruned, but can be cut back hard if you wish to control their height. Depends how big you want them. Without hard pruning in early spring (to about 12 inches), and removing about a foot several times during the growing season, mine easily approach six feet high and wide or more. I suggest, since it's only their second season, that you don't prune them this spring. Wait and see how much they grow. They can be cut back at anytime during the growing season if they're getting too large. I know because I cut a knockout back to stubs at the end of June last summer, planning to remove it. I never got around to digging out the stump, and within a month it was blooming again beautifully.
maryrecord
13 years ago
If your zone 5b is like my 5b was you don't need to worry about controlling the height of knockouts. Most of the plant will die off completely (blackened stems) and will have to be cut away in the spring and most of the new growth will come from the bottom. They won't get big unless you have a warm winter.

Litany of questions from first year gardener

Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

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ninamarie

j0novision
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Litany of questions from first year gardener

Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

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ninamarie

j0novisionOriginal Author

arbordayle

maryrecord

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j0novision
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