Posts: 3313
From: Twin Peaks
Registered: Apr 2011

posted March 23, 2014 12:38 PM            

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I don't know how to prune...anything.

I don't even know how or if I should prune my old lemon balm and oregano after the stems dry up. They sort of jut up out of the ground throughout the winter, and I'm not familiar enough with the plants to know if I should snip the old stems, or if they come back to life like a rose bush does?

We also have a couple of small maple trees in the back yard, and they're getting a little unruly. Any suggestions?

I can look it up online, but figured I would post here first.

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Posts: 39527
From: Saturn next to Charmainec
Registered: Apr 2009

posted March 24, 2014 01:50 PM            

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Me either. I'm scared I'll hurt the plants.

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Posts: 3313
From: Twin Peaks
Registered: Apr 2011

posted March 24, 2014 08:54 PM            

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Yeah, same here. And I also don't always know whether something actually *needs* to be pruned or not. I did do a very haphazard job of pruning the indigenous bushes along our fence line, though...but I apologized to the bushes (and...truth be stated, I felt that they were being rather difficult, and told them so, haha...but I let them know that I wasn't *trying* to hurt them).

I often wonder what the percentage is of people who talk to plants like they would animals or other people, compared to those who don't.

I think that I must have made my own conclusions long ago that surely everyone talks to plants, hahaha.

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Posts: 39527
From: Saturn next to Charmainec
Registered: Apr 2009

posted March 24, 2014 09:49 PM            

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Clive Baxter proved that plants "listen."

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Posts: 3313
From: Twin Peaks
Registered: Apr 2011

posted March 24, 2014 10:35 PM            

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quote:

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Originally posted by Randall:
Clive Baxter proved that plants "listen."

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I sincerely believe that.

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Posts: 39527
From: Saturn next to Charmainec
Registered: Apr 2009

posted March 28, 2014 12:36 PM            

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From: Saturn next to Charmainec
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posted March 29, 2014 02:57 PM            

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I just don't want to hurt them.

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Posts: 728
From: USA
Registered: Sep 2011

posted April 02, 2014 06:08 PM            

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I don't even want to mow my lawn anymore because I hear the grass cry. I need to live in the country with a meadow in my front yard.

You know, you shouldnt have to worry about pruning. Your plants will like the care and attention. They long for human interaction. When plants are pruned properly, with love and thoughtful attention, they smile. Ask your plants what they need and they will let you know.

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As a general rule, do not trim until after the season that it flowers. For instance if you have a shrub that flowers in the spring, cut it back right after it flowers and it will have all summer to grow new buds for next year.
If you have a plant that blooms in the summer you can trim it in the fall or early spring so it has time for new growth before it blooms.

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Posts: 728
From: USA
Registered: Sep 2011

posted April 02, 2014 06:12 PM            

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lemon balm?
That grows like a weed. It is in invincible, ha!

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Posts: 728
From: USA
Registered: Sep 2011

posted April 02, 2014 06:25 PM            

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Oregano?
Greek oregano is a favorite of mine.
I would just trim to harvest the leaves at the dnd of the season leaving the big leaves at the base. Then in the spring i would trim off the woody stems as the new growth comes in.
An herbalist coul probably give you better instructions.

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Posts: 7261
From: the Point of Light within the Mind of God
Registered: Aug 2013

posted April 02, 2014 09:45 PM            

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The Lemon Balm won't come up from the stalk, you can trim it.

It's had it's day.

It will come up from the roots. They are so sweet! I think oregano is the same way, but can't remember for sure. I'm not much of a vegetable gardener, I'm more Herbally inclined.

If it's kitchen, I get bored, I only like medicinal.

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Posts: 3313
From: Twin Peaks
Registered: Apr 2011

posted April 03, 2014 11:36 PM            

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Excellent advice PS and Ellyn! Thank you!

You're right about the lemon balm and oregano, I can already see them starting to come up from the ground, not the old wooden stems.

Yep, I love the way that both herbs have taken over pretty much an entire section of my flower garden! I think that my neighbor has mint, and I'm going to ask her for some to plant so that it will take over as well.

She gave us raspberry canes in the fall, and they seem to have taken root and are doing well.

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Posts: 3313
From: Twin Peaks
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posted April 03, 2014 11:39 PM            

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Side note...

I love the way my little boy loves dandelions so much... When it's nice enough to go work outside, we spend time looking for them, and it's like an Easter egg hunt.

Then I remind him to say "Thank you" to the flowers and the Earth, and he says it so sweetly (and then adds "Thank you Saturn, thank you Neptune, thank you Uranus").

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From: Saturn next to Charmainec
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posted April 04, 2014 02:44 PM            

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Awww...

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From: USA
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posted April 13, 2014 05:05 PM            

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Here's a great activity. I don't know how old your son is, though. Give him a ball of yarn and have him connect the dots with the dandlion flowers to make an image, by stringing the yarn from flower to flower. He can wind it up when he is done and start over again. You can take photos of his art and guess what he created, kind of like looking at clouds in the sky and imagining what the shapes are.

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Posts: 3313
From: Twin Peaks
Registered: Apr 2011

posted April 15, 2014 11:44 AM            

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I'll try that, PS! What a neat idea!

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Posts: 39527
From: Saturn next to Charmainec
Registered: Apr 2009

posted April 27, 2014 02:56 PM            

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