| Due to a very late freeze, after plant growth was already started this last spring - several shrubs (grancey greybeard/fringetree),crepe myrtles and lilacs have considerable limbs that are still green if you scratch the bark off - but no leaves are appearing. Should I prune them back and how much - most are 5-10 feet tall. Should they be fertilized with granular/liquid fertilizer? Thanks |
| Jerry, Pruning this late is likely to encourage a late season growth spurt that will just be killed by the first hard freeze. I would wait until late winter and then just prune as you normally would. If the plants look non-vigorous a little fertilizer would be helpful but I wouldn't push them along with too much at this time to avoid excessive late season growth. Thanks for the question. Please stop in again soon! |
