
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, July 15, 1990                   TAG: 9007160296
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By Sandra Brown Kelly
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

PRUNE WEEPING CHERRY AFTER BLOOMING TIME

Q: About three years ago we purchased a weeping cherry tree. It has really grown so we have a large bushy tree that needs pruning. We're not sure when the best time is. Also, it hasn't bloomed. When can we expect flowers? Mrs. M. J., Roanoke

A: Weeping cherry trees can be pruned in the spring after the bloom time for those that are blooming or even as late as when the leaves are fully out.

There are different trees sold as weeping cherry, so I cannot give definite information on blooming or pruning details. It should be OK to remove lower limbs to give the single trunk tree appearance, but don't cut off more than one-third of the potential leaf-making area in one year. Flowering often requires mature wood and may start gradually over the next few years. This assumes that the tree is in good soil in full sun with plenty of room to grow.

Gardeners checklist

Summer care is important for poinsettias that are being grown with the hope of reblooming for this Christmas. If you didn't repot the plant with fresh soil in the spring do it now. Prune new growth shoots back now and again in August so that the poinsettia won't be a tree by the time the reblooming process begins in early fall. Continue with a monthly fertilizing.

by CNB