How to Plant a Tree in Oklahoma Soil

Become a Master Gardener

Classes start in September each year. Register at our office on 15th Street for more information.

Garden  

The Tulsa Master Gardener program is looking for active adults that enjoy interacting with people, get along well with others, are life-long learners and are ready, willing and able to volunteer their time to enhance the numerous Master Gardener community outreach programs. The training program for new Master Gardener Volunteers is offered once a year beginning in September.

For those interested in 2013 training, two orientations will be held at the Tulsa County OSU Extension Center at 4116 E. 15th St. Tulsa; 1:00 pm on Wednesday, August 7, and 10:00 am on Wednesday, August 14. For further details, visit www.tulsamastergardeners.org.

Now that spring has come to a close and hot weather has set in, those cool weather crops such as greens, peas, and cabbages have mostly phased out, while the much loved tomatoes, corn, peppers, etc. have started to come on. The harvest of cool season vegetables has probably left you with a large void of space to plant with the end of the growing season still several months away.

Once  you harvest your lettuces and peas, don't leave that space unoccupied! Maximize your garden space through the practice of succession planting. While succession planting can refer to the continuous sowing of one crop throughout the season to ensure a steady harvest, it can also refer to  following one outgoing crop with a different one, ensuring a steady supply of fresh vegetables on through summer and into fall.

July may be the dog days of summer. but there are several crops that can be started by mid-month for a fall harvest. For example:

• Summer squash, winter squash, pumpkins, pole beans, and carrots can be sown directly in your garden bed in mid-July.  
• If you can locate some transplants, or have the means to grow your own, broccoli and brussels sprout seedlings can be set out at the same time.
• If the spider mites and squash bugs got to your tomatoes and squash before you did, don't worry; another crop can be planted now for a fall harvest.  
• Other vegetables such as cucumbers, bush beans, cabbage, and lettuces can be sown directly into the garden in August.

For more information on late season planting dates see Fact Sheet Fall Gardening.

Although the type of pruner can make a gardener's life easier, knowing when to prune is just as important to create a vibrant, colorful garden. Proper pruning enhances the beauty of almost any landscape tree or shrub and is an essential maintenance practice in home landscaping. On the other hand, improper pruning can destroy the natural beauty of a tree or shrub and reduce its landscape potential by weakening and thus disposing plants to various maladies. Pruning, like any other skill, requires knowledge and practice to achieve success.

First, let's review why it's important to prune. First and foremost, removing dead, diseased, broken, and crossed/rubbed branches maintains and improves the health of any plant, shrub or tree. Second, it improves the flowers, fruit, foliage and stems. Third, pruning is done to train the plant to avoid power lines, structures, or remove weak crotches before high winds do it for you (and that won't be pretty!).  Finally, it is done to restrict the plant's size and/or control its natural shape and beauty.

Pruning is not difficult if you understand the basics and take the time to learn why, when, and how to prune. The necessity for pruning can be reduced or eliminated by selecting the proper plant for the location. Plants that might grow too large for the site will require pruning to keep them in bounds, destroying the original intent and also making the plants unsightly and possibly weak with age. If this is the case, consider replacing the plant with a smaller growing tree or shrub such as a dwarf (shorter) or columnar (more narrow in width) cultivar of the original species. Unless pruning is done to form a formal hedge, espalier, or topiary, it should not be utilized to destroy or alter the plant's natural shape. The general rule of thumb is to not remove any more than 1/3 of the branching system of any tree or 2/3 of a shrub or vine in any given year. Remove most inside branches that have become crowded or crossed to promote more air flow, which will reduce disease potential (such as fungus).

If needed, evergreen shrubs (yews, juniper, and boxwood, etc.) may be pruned in early spring before new growth begins or later in May through July; spring-flowering shrubs (forsythia, rhododendron, lilacs, etc.) should only be pruned, if needed, soon after blooming is completed; flowering perennials and annuals (deadheading to promote continued blooming throughout the summer); and roses, once they have bloomed (to promote the next set of blooms). Unless absolutely necessary, tree pruning should be held off until the winter months.

The right tools can make pruning and cutting much easier. Be sure to try out several varieties and find ones that easily fit into your hand. Most likely, paying a little more for higher quality tools now will pay off in the long run. And, after each use, be sure to clean and dry them thoroughly to promote sharpness and the overall life of the product. 

More information on this subject can be found on the OSU Fact Sheet Pruning Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, and Vines. For Annual Pruning of Fruit Trees, click here.

Spring and early summer have been much different compared to last year, but have we really had more rainfall this growing season? And, are we still in a drought here in Tulsa?

The answer to the first question is yes...but barely. If we consider the period of April 1 to June 30, normally the wettest three-month period of the year, precipitation at Tulsa International Airport was slightly more than last year, but still about 4� inches below normal. Other parts of Tulsa County were luckier, such as Jenks Riverside Airport, which was only about an inch below normal and well ahead of the pace of last year. A bigger factor in vegetation health has probably been the cooler than normal temperatures this spring that have kept evaporation of soil moisture less than normal. But, throw in the inevitable hot weather that comes with summertime, and a recent dry spell, and things are starting to really dry out again.

As for the second question, we are not currently considered to be in a drought in Tulsa at this time, although we are back to "abnormally dry" after a respite this spring. But, precipitation is much more hit and miss through the summer, and with long term precipitation deficits still large, unless we are really lucky, we will likely see some degree of drought conditions return by later this summer. Stay up to date at the Climate Prediction Center.

But, speaking of lucky, how about the cooler-than-normal start to July! But, you know the heat will return...hopefully not to the degree we have seen the last few summers.