Easy Gardener • Pat Howell
	Learn to Prune May, 2006

Azaleas should be pruned in the two- month time frame after they bloom. This way, the buds for next spring’s flowers will still be allowed to form, which will happen very slowly from July through next May (or April or June). Of course, Mother Nature knows best when actual bloom-time will occur, rather like the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin.

Easy Gardener is teaming up with Mike Welsh to offer a free clinic on pruning your azaleas. Both are members of The Takoma Horticultural Club (Mike is a past president), and of the Azalea Society, Brookside Chapter.

The clinic will be held once, rain or shine, on Sunday, June 18, at 1 p.m., at Memorial Park, intersection of Maple Avenue and Route 410, directly across Route 410 from the Takoma Park Library and City Building. Parking is available behind the Library/City Building. Yes, we do work in the rain, unless there is lightning.

All are welcome. You do not have to be a resident of Takoma Park to attend. If children attend with you, please help them to be quiet — and calm; no running in amongst the azaleas (that includes adults, too).

The clinic will be free. This is not a membership drive for Takoma Horticultural Club nor a fund-raiser for the city building. If you would like to join the Hort Club, this will be a good time to do so, but it is not, repeat not, a requirement.

Between now and June 18, you may want to purchase good pruners or sharpen your old ones. Dull pruner blades rip and shred the branches — not a desired goal. We like to keep our pruners in a sheath, attached to our person. Easy Gardener prefers a sturdy leather belt that slips through the back of the sheath. Some prefer a clip-on sheath.

Perhaps you have pruned before, and set your pruners down when the phone rang or the children screamed or the cat chased the dog directly in front of you. Remembering to retrieve your pruners or trying to find which leaf pile they are under is frustrating, and can be expensive. Better to slip them in their sheath.

Recommendations on pruners: Felco #2 is the original pruner, with classic design and renowned dependability. It is the choice pruner for gardeners and professionals. Easy Gardener uses Felco (anvil blade). Nearly every gardener we know uses Felco or Corona or ARS.

Felco #2 pruners cost about $45 new.

If you are buying pruners, here are suggestions of what to look for: Anvil blades vs. by-pass blades: both have good points (pun intended). If you are purchasing new, stay closer to the top of the line in quality (Felco, Corona, ARS). The better the quality, the longer the blade will stay sharp, and the better it will fit in your hand.

Hold different pruners in your hand for comfort. Make sure you can lock it closed easily with your thumb, without having to look. A drop of 3-In-One oil helps keep it that way.

Bells and whistles may include: rotating handles; ergonomic handles; left-handed pruners; wire-cutting notch; hook blade with sap groove to keep the cutting point clear of build-up.

To maintain a sharp blade, we keep on hand a goodly supply of the small thin diamond files. We buy them in threes because they are thin and get lost in the shuffle.

To look for pruners, sheaths, and diamond files, we suggest Piney Branch Hardware, Strosniders, Roozens, American Plant Food, Stadlers or Behnke Nurseries.

If you have long-bladed, two-handed shears, please put them away some place where you can’t find them. They are not for pruning Azaleas. Liriope, yes, if they are very sharp. Ten times out of ten, the blades have not been sharpened, so they won’t even cut liriope, only shred the ends.

If you are going to be cutting thick-stemmed branches, sharp loppers work; again, plan to shop closer to the top of the line. Quality works, every time.

Next month: The most popular azaleas in our area.

Pat Howell is a Takoma Park gardener and landscape designer/contractor. She is available for hand-holding and answering questions through Deephaven Landscapers.

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