If you are looking for a low-maintenance plant that can give your garden some texture and color, then lamb’s ear is the answer. Just like any other perennial plant, it requires proper care and maintenance to ensure its growth and development.
One of the essential tasks in taking care of lamb’s ear is pruning. Pruning helps promote healthy growth, control size and shape, remove dead or diseased parts, and prepare it for the winter season. In this blog post, we will discuss how to prune lamb’s ear for winter properly.
When should you prune?
The best time to prune your lamb’s ear is during late summer or early fall when it has finished flowering. This period provides enough time for the foliage to regrow before going dormant during winter.
Tools needed
Before starting pruning your lamb’s ear plant, make sure you have all the necessary tools ready:
– A pair of gardening gloves
– Sharp hand pruners/scissors/shears
– Rubbing alcohol
Steps on how to prune Lamb’s Ear plants for winter
Step 1: Start by removing dead or damaged leaves
Wear protective gloves before touching your lamb’s ears as they have hairy leaves which may irritate sensitive skin. Inspect every part of your plant thoroughly and begin by snipping off any discolored or dry-looking stems at their base with sharp scissors/pruners.
Step 2: Remove spent flowers
Cut off any spent flower spikes from their bases while leaving behind young buds at lower sites; this encourages new blooms’ production next growing season.
Step 3: Trim back old growth
Cutting back old foliage also promotes new leafy growth in springtime; therefore, trim down older stalks close to ground level using pruning shears/scissors except where there are green leaves sprouting from nodes along them.
If some parts still look ratty after cutting back entirely do not hesitate to cut more until everything looks healthy again.
Step 4: Clean your tools
After each use, wipe blades with rubbing alcohol to prevent the spread of any potential diseases.
Step 5: Water and fertilize
Water thoroughly after pruning lamb’s ear to encourage new growth. You may also apply a slow-release granular fertilizer following the package instructions to help boost its overall health before it goes into dormancy.
Conclusion
Pruning is an essential task in keeping your lamb’s ear plant healthy throughout the growing season. By knowing when and how to prune them properly, you can ensure that they will provide beauty in your garden year-round. Now that you know how to prune lamb’s ear for winter correctly, get out there and start maintaining yours today!
