Mike McGroarty and Two Donkeys Teach You about Pruning Small Plants.
This video is really important about pruning small plants as they need it.
In this video I am really late getting these plants pruned, I would have been much better off to have pruned most of them at least four weeks ago.
That’s how fast your plants can get away from you and how vigilant you have to be about pruning them.
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Questions? Comments? Post them below.
How do I take a cutting of my rose, touch of class, and root so I can have more of them.
I love this rose and I would like more. Expensive to buy.
Thank you
Brenda,
Just use the search box on this site and look up rose propagation or growing roses from cuttings and we have a couple of articles. Or try this now; https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2015/01/easy-summertime-plant-propagation-techniques-can-home/
Mike, I recently acquired 4 donkeys. One Jesus donkey and 3 smaller ones. I’m concerned about what to feed since they have pretty much ate all the grazing foliage. This is our first time owning donkeys. If you can offer any kind of advice I would love to hear from you.
Susan,
Finegan and Fergus eat a little bit of this daily, https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/dumor-maintenance-equine-feed, and hay. They don’t burn a lot of calories so they don’t need a sweet feed or something for active horses. They probably get about 2 cups a day this time of year, way too much I’m sure with the hay. In the winter they need more, they eat more because they eat to make heat from the inside out.
Hello I was wondering what kind of location can I move my butterfly bush too. Can it tolerate a sunny area. Thank you.
Angie,
Yes, it should do fine in full sun. Just keep it watered as needed. But don’t move it until after Thanksgiving.
How much can I prune my lilacs? They are about 8 feet tall and lanky. Thanks. I love the donkeys!
Karen
Mike,
I love your videos! They are so helpful! Can you answer a question? What time of year is best for pruning shrubs? Can I prune during the growing season?
Thanks, keep up the good work!
Zach
Zack,
Sure you can prune during the growing season, I do it all the time. I prune year round.
Mike: I absolutely ADORE your donkeys and chickens and the way you love all living things. Your videos are helpful, even to an old lady like me, who’s been gardening all her life. I can’t possibly grow plants to sell….but you always give me great tips about my plants.
I was MOST impressed when I read your personal story. You are one GREAT guy, for sure!
Thank you for enriching my garden, my life….and the planet!
I’m your number 1 fan!
claudia gale
cape cod
Thank you Claudia, I truly appreciate your kind words.
Thanks so much Finigan and Fergus. You two are so cute. Thanks Mike. That was very helpful.
Mike, I am always so busy and don’t always get to watch all of your videos. I actually clicked on this one because of the mention of donkeys. I am very glad I did because I learned I can be very aggressive about cutting back when pruning. I love the donkeys and other animals. It makes the videos much more interesting to watch. Anyone who would unsubscribe because of them is throwing a temper tantrum because they are not getting immediate gratification.
Thank you, I appreciate that.
Should I prune my new roses? They are knock outs.
Debbie,
Pruning roses during the growing season is a simple matter of removing spent flowers. But as you do, count down at least a couple of nodes below the actually flower and remove part of the stem. Then come fall or very early spring you can cut the roses back much harder so they grow nice and compact the following season.
I had Roses that had black canes this Spring, I thought I had lost them. I’m from Michigan and my beloved Roses were the talk of my small apt. complex. So, I had to cut them all the way down to the ground just hoping they would come back. They are better then they were when I first planted them, so Big & Beautiful. I am always reading your web-site and following your advice, I save all of your Gardening posts so that I can go back when I’m not sure on what to do.
p.s. Love the Donkeys (o;
Thank you Louise! I love the donkeys too.
Mike, I live in zone 7 in Central NC. Is it too late now in September to prune my newly potted plants. Some of them are getting tall and lanky.
Thanks,
Buddy
Buddy, I am a Backyard Grower with a nursery in Belmont near Charlotte. I am still pruning (and turning those hardwood cuttings into future plants) now in November.
Mike –
I am a flower and rose grower – no veggies any more and I don’t aim to sell plants just now, but I am a HUGE admirer of yours! I love you emails, your videos, you writing, Duston’s interests – I love it all! You are a perfect exemplar of the American spirit, a small businessman who tried and tried and finally has succeeded. True grit! Keep it up – you are going to be famous one day if you aren’t already. I would NEVER unsubscribe; you have added so much in general knowledge to my own store of same, and I have been gardening for half a century.
All the best,
Jamie
Jamie,
Thanks for your kind words, they are appreciated.
Mike, You mean someone unsubscribed because of the donkeys? I just
figure it’s their loose.
They are beautiful and one can see that they really love you, just watch their faces as you rub their heads.
Just as you can see that you care for them, you don’t sound so hyper
for the lack of a better word.
How about Pam, can she see the difference? How does she like them?
Please keep up your vids. It is easier to learn what to do by watching
someone do it, at least for me.
Have fun with your new kids.
sincerely, donna
Oh and your donkeys are precious! Enjoyed watching them. They were just like kids hanging around.
Great video! It was very helpful. Will be certain to use this technique in the fall and on new plants. Thanks for sharing!
aw Mike! put those donkeys in your vids as often as possible! they are great! (and so are you) thank you!
Hello Mike!
Thanks it really helps.
They are not adopted, they adopt you Mike! So nice to see how they love you.
Mia
Love the minis. I had one but it grew to standard size , you re making me want to get two more:-)
Now I want a donkey…
Can you sell the plants after pruning
Thanks,
Owen
Owen,
You can sell them after pruning but it’s best if the plants have a chance to fill out before you sell them.
I can see the blood pressure going down already!!!
Finnegan (Teasel) and Fergus (Gorse) are great field companions for you and terrific pruners as well … if maybe a bit overzealous!
Good to see Mike’s helpers in action.
Hey Mike,
I always enjoy your videos and articles regarding all the plants, donkeys, chickens etc. I am sorry that person decided to unsubscribe as supposedly you weren’t “focusing” on plants. But you know, all of the animals, plants are really part of gardening, not just farming. I raised 120 small farm animals on 1/3 acre in the city(grandfather zoned) along with an organic vegetable garden, fruit trees, and two small ponds. With the animals, I had a fantastic crops since I mulched with….you know (probably not polite to say….and of course there were always “free mulch from the trees, grass clippings and such….So what I am trying to say, Mike, is keep on keeping with your fantastic videos etc. Include the animals, etc as they are a part of “plants”….Lynn
Thanks Lynn, I appreciate your support.
Love the donkeys and also good pruning advise. Would have never pruned so aggressively .
Loved your video, made watching more interesting with the donkeys.
Hi Mike ,
I need to know when and how to prune Forsythia bushes. And how to start new plants from the cuttings .
Please let me know soon
Thanks
R. Jarboe
Richard,
You can trim forsythia anytime you see fit. They are quite resilient. You can take cuttings now as well, details here http://www.freeplants.com/homemade-plant-propagation.htm
They are so cute!!!
Hey Mike, well done! Now those donkeys are tax-deductible (you clever man). Great tips on the pruning. These donkeys are WAY too cute! Glad to see you are enjoying them as much as they enjoy YOU.
Mike,
Loved the Donkeys(Fergus and Finnegan?)helping you prune! The way that you gather the plants into the “ponytail” and just snip them down is an interesting and easy way to prune!
Thanks!
I loved sharing this video with my 8 year old daughter. She LOVES animals and thinks Finnegan and Fergus are adorable. And we learned a bit about pruning. Have a great week!
Thanks Dawn, it’s great to know that you are keeping an eye on us. Hope to see you in September in Cleveland.
Yes, Mike. You are looking good with the weight loss. Keep it up!
I love your videos and the donkeys are adorable. I so much wish I lived near you so I could visit and work for you. You are a real hoot and I always enjoy your videos. Keep it up. You are a gem!
You three amigos are just too cute for words. Keep the vidio’s coming.\
;0)
MK
I can’t believe how ‘friendy’ they are Mike ! Just like a couple New Additions to the family, eh ! Keep an eye on them if you have any plants they may like to prune that are unhealthy for them ! My Chow ‘Kodi’ as a pup chewed up a ‘Bleeding Heart’ in my backyard..was sick for a day, but ‘never touched’ another plant after that !
Yes, there are a fair number of plants that could give those poor little guys belly-aches, and a few, like Oleander, with it’s lovely sweet scent, which could kill them. VERY poisonous! I’m sure you’re enough of an old hand not to get caught by this, but no one knows everything. Do be sure you check anything you let your curious little munchers near. -Lynn
Thanks for the pruning tips! Love your videos. The donkey’s are awesome. Thanks for letting them be in the video.
The donkeys are as sweet as can be! How much weight have you lost? Looking good!!
So glad to see the donkeys! Love animals! Just curious after you took the cuttings and stripped away bottom leaves, why did you snip the top leaves? Does that stimulate something as well?
Kristen,
Those cuttings had really big leaves and air circulation in the propagating bed is important. I don’t always do that.
I just read an article in the Gladwin County Record ( a rural Michigan newspaper ) about “Oak Wilt”
I was shocked of how bad of a problem this was to anybody who has oaks on their property.
In a nutshell – Pruning of oaks during growing season, attracts a certain type of beetle to feed on the oozing sap, ….these beetles carry some type of fungus which attacks the oaks, which can spread to other oaks, thru the root systems…completely killing off the oak.
I didn’t know this, and had done some pruning in May, when the sap would be flowing. I have my fingers crossed.
Apparently, oaks should only be pruned when they’re DORMANT, with no possibility of sap flow.
Can you expound on this for people in Michigan, Ohio and other areas where oaks are common ?
Do you know of any other trees or perennials that are in a similar situation ??
Hank,
This is not something that I am familiar with, wish I could offer more.
Do not personally know much about Oak Wilt, though I do have a number of Pin Oaks on my North Carolina property. However, here are just a couple of links that may help understand your Oak Wilt problem in Michigan:
http://www.forestpathology.org/dis_oakwilt.html, and, from your own home state, http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10371_10402-300009–,00.html .
Best of wishes.
oak wilt is a HUGE problem in texas…. i recommend going to texas a&m site for advice. i have gone to several seminars regarding this issue and gotten lots of rather frightening but very helpful information.
great vid mike. ty also to finnigin and fergus.. organic pruners.
Arggghhh! So excited to see the donkeys with Mike pruning, send on to my Grandkids…but alas!!!….the video link is not in my email from you!?
Technical glitch? Please resend and >>>What Are The Names<<< of the little guys? Will they have future brides and generations at your place?