We have purchased a basic pruning book at the local garden center and understand some of the basic principals. However, we would like to learn how and when to prune specific plants. Is there a good book available for the Vancouver BC area? Are there courses available at garden centers or schools? Ron
Van Dusen Botanical Garden offers a variety of courses. Here is a link to their education page. http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/parks/parks/vandusen/website/education/adult.htm Sometimes garden centres also offer courses. One that comes to mind ( with no particular endorsement ), is Mandeville garden centre in Burnaby. I applaud your wanting to learn more, Joe
pruning seminars are good for basic stuff. I just did one for Art's Nursery in port kells. If you go to Gardenworks at Mandeville, look for Conway and ask away!
Keep in mind that vendors don't want to scare people off gardening (quite the opposite, they want everyone to jump in and buy millions of dollars worth of products), may tend to oversimplify or sometimes even give questionable advice as a result. It's a good idea to check information you get from any source, anyway.
Ron B. just for the record, I didnt and dont generally recommend or suggest any products.. except, Felco is the better choice if one wants a set of hand pruners for a lifetime (considering cost) and Silky is the way to go with pruning saws if one wants a saw that will last a long long time (again considering cost). but I do agree, be mindful of retailers who push products aggressively and make your own decisions with intelligence and knowledge behind you. hey, why does anyone still sell asphalt based "pruning sealer" when no one suggests them for use? let alone pruning paints or sealers of other origins?
