Pruning trees

This time of year in northern Nevada were thinking about planning our garden. We should also be thinking about pruning our trees, shrubs and grapevines. Pruning should be done before plants bud out. You have until about the middle of March to get your pruning done. You should also keep in mind that this is a great opportunity to get some free trees and shrubs by propagating the cuttings. Propagating plants is easy if you know how. The first step is knowing which plants can be easily propagated by cuttings. Deciduous trees and shrubs(plants that drop their leaves in winter) are the easiest to propagate. Before plants bud out, I will take cuttings from those plants I wish to duplicate. Cuttings should be no bigger than your finger and no longer than 18 inches for best results. Cutting at an angle just below a bud makes your bottom of your plant cutting. Then measure up 18 inches and just above a bud make a straight cut for the top of your cutting. Place this cutting in a jar or tub of water, with the water just below the last two buds at the top. The stem that is exposed to the water should develop roots within one to two weeks. Be sure to change out your water daily for the cuttings or they will begin to rot instead of root. An other method you can use when the weather is warmer and the soil is workable, is digging a trench to place your cuttings in. The last two buds should be above the ground. Be sure and keep the soil damp but not soggy and in one to two weeks you can dig up your cuttings. At this point you should have roots on your cuttings and you can replant them where you want them. Note: Tag your cuttings so you know what plants you are rooting. It also a good idea to keep track of which plants you took the cuttings from, so you know which ones did well.