PHOTO BY WANDA OGDEN This Yard's Always In Bloom Informal beds of annuals and perennials provide a continuous display of color throughout most of the year in the corner yard of Don and Barbara Errickson, 3 Midiron Court, Calabash, the Carolina Shores Garden Club Yard of the Month. In bloom now are masses of daffodils and crocuses. Cacti and flo wering trees and shrubs round out the attractive landscape. Now Best Time To Prune Fruit Trees In order to obtain maximum yield and quality, most fruit bearing woody plants must be pruned annu ally. The most frequent questions I get asked about arc concerned with when and how. The answer to "when to prune?" is relatively straight forward. Fruit trees can be pruned anytime during the year widiout killing them. How ever, the best time of the year to prune most fruit or nut trees (apples, pears, pecans, plums, peaches and the like) is in the spring or late win ter several weeks prior to bud break. I recommend this because the prun ing wound is exposed to the envi ronment for the least amount of time before healing begins and you can easily judge and remove winter killed stems. I prune my peach and apple trees during February and con tinue into early March. I have even pruned right up until flowering and seen no detrimental effects (some experts even recommend waiting until flowering). In many commercial orchards, fruit trees will be lightly pruned im mediately following fruit harvest. I prune out suckers and water sprouts from my peach trees in late July or early August. This generally cleans up the lower quarter of the tree and allows better insecticide spray pene tration into the tree canopy and onto the trunk for the August pcach borer invasion. The "how to prune" a fruit tree is much more complicated. How a tree is pruned will depend upon the species, variety, rootstock, plant age, and cultivation intensity. Correctly pruning fruit trees involves about 50 percent knowledge and 50 percent technique (art). I will briefly cover several princi ples to remember when pruning your pcach or apple trees. Peach trees require heavy prun ing. Pcach fruit develop only on the previous season's growth. There fore, older wood is no good for fruit. Older wood should be used to devel op a limb architecture that can hold the fruit crop (if you arc bracing your limbs, then you arc pruning in correctly). The limbs of a pcach should form a canopy that resembles an upside-down umbrella. No limb should exceed eye level. The center of the tree should be open and free of growth. A well-pruned 5-year-old pcach tree will have four or five major limbs that branch out from the main trunk. These limbs should start branching out from the main trunk 18 inches to 24 inches from the ground. The main trunk should be 6 inches to 10 inches in diameter. Stop by a commercial pcach orchard and closely observer a well-pruned tree. Apples do not require as much THE PLANT DOCTOR a C. BRUCE ? > f* WILLIAMS Extension Area Turf Specialist J pruning as peaches. Large amounts of stem and leaf growth coupled with light fruit harvest indicate ex cessive pruning. Little shoot growth and large numbers of small fruit in dicate the need for heavier pruning. Optimum shoot growth for an estab lished tree should be about 8 inchcs to 12 inches a season. Apples (or pear) trees arc grafted to many different kinds of root stocks. It is important to know if your tree is a dwarf, semi dwarf, or standard sire tree because this will determine pruning technique. In ad dition, some apples are spur-types and others arc non-spur types. Spur typc apples varieties require sub stantially less pruning than other types. Semi-dwarf rootstocks arc most commonly used for residential fruit trees. For maximum fruit yields from semi-dwarf trees, the overall plant shape should resemble a tall triangle. A central leader or main trunk should be developed. The pri mary scaffold branches should form a 90-degree angle with the trunk and be well spaced all the way up the tree. Prune out branches that cross or crowd the primary scaffold branches. Prune out any suckcrs, water sprouts or low branches with in two feet of the ground. There are a number of excellent N.C. State Extension bulletins that describe the process and show ex cellent diagrams. These bulletins March 31,1333 Retirees Get them now-before their prices increase! Alpha ? Ben, Bonnie, Button, Cardinal, Chip, Doug, Happy, Johnny, Julias, Madre, Par, N.O. Evils, Rebecca, Sammyt Brother, Sis & Dad, Willie & Son We have new '93 releases too! Suptr Chief, Ty (Cobb), Sacajawt & Son CARDS (SOFTS, 754-9968 Twin Crook (Food Lion) Pkaaao, Shollott* FREE GIFT WRAPPING ? UPS S?rvfc*t can be obtained from your local Co operative Extension Office. Send your gardening questions to the Plant Doctor, Post Office Box 109, Bolivia. NC 28422. SOUTH BRUNSWICK MEDICAL GROUP Gary D. Ross, M.D. (Internal Medicine) Samuel W. Kirtley, M.D. (Family Practice) For Complete Outpatient Medical Care Routine Health Maintenance Adult Medical Concerns/Pediatrics Women's Concerns (Pap Smears/Contraception) Laboratory & X-Ray Facilities For Complete Minor Emergency Care CARE Located off Hwy. 17 at Union School Road Open Mon.-Fri., 9 A.M. to 6 P.M., Sat. 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. 579-9955 or 579-0800 C19W TH? BRUNSWICK BEACON W/M^n^mnl/Arr ^I? il^ CU^vwf ? IV/I I IWI I IVIIWI O V^IUU f T IV/I I IUWI O sj>l IV/VV Skills In Cultural Arts 'Competition Fourteen members of local Homcmakers Extension clubs showed their crafts at the recently cultural arts crafts competition at the Brunswick County Home Economics Food Lab in Bolivia. Blue ribbon winners include Jean Green, Calabash, for painting on a canvas bag; Reva Ferguson, Calabash, knitted sweater; Dorothy Volinic, Calabash, U.S. Navy emblem in cross stitch; Julia Bailey, Boiling Spring Lakes, chair caning; Lena Bcachum, Town Creek, black and white ceramic mime. Also Eleanor Hoff, Beachcombers, machine quilt ing; Dcralinc McAllister, Supply, handcrafted toy from plastic mesh stitchcry. Barbie RV; and Lena Beacham, Town Creek, miscellaneous creations, an E-H mascot, a stuffed dog with the Extension Homcmakers emblem on its thigh. Other entries included a rainbow rag rug in crochet by Julia Bailey, cross stitch pictures by Eleanor Hoff, and wide-brimmed straw hat with cross-stitch band by Pat Nash, ceramic Indian chief by Edith Ogden, Guys and Dolls Club; ceramic Oriental jar by Pat Collins, Beachcombers; and doll clothes by Nell Mayberry, Boil ing Spring Lakes. Judging was by Karen Stanley and Jerri Piazza. Twenty-one club members were on hand for the viewing and luncheon. Each of the county's seven clubs was responsible for bringing one item for the buffet lunch. Blue ribbon entries will be entered in the cultural arts craft competition at the South Central District meet ing at Sea Trail March 25 Members may attend the District Heritage Skills workshop held each spring, or learn from workshops held locally by those who have attended the district workshop. The next workshop will be in Fayetteville April 28 and 29. Club members and non-club members are wel come. For more information, contact the Homcmakcrs Extension Office, 253-4425. We appreciate your business! !stJcaiS?g Strawberry We Do Alterations \ \ "Dl otifc Curtains ? Drapes I 1 IfllitD Repairs on Suede > And Leather s I 2" pots... 15. 1*63 I Strawberries USDA Choice Beef Untrimmed Whole Bottom Rounds u>. 1.68 V?1 Baby Peeled 18-22 Lbs. Average ParrAfc Sliced FREE! ^ ^aiTOlS We Sell Postage Stamps: Diet Coke, Caffeine Free Diet Coke. Sprite, Diet Sprite Coke Classic 1 Lb. Bag Quart Smooth, Creamy Green-Skinned Avocadoes 2 Liter Each Bonus Buys! Bonus Buys! Bo]ius Buys! Bonus Buys! Simply Nutritious! TldC Ultra With Bleach 46 Oz. V 16 Oz. Reg. \ Food ? - 2/95? m 7.75 Oz. 2/79< \3/99? f \ Reg. a i rt 7k r\.. j Lion Tomato Soup Reg. Mm -- * ? ? ? Reg. ?Qc March is National Red Cross Month. \ 2/79< rk .. y J The American Red Cross Needs Your Support. ^ $1 Donation Coupons Available at Food Lion Check-Out Counters.