by Leslie Cox; Monday; February 1, 2021

It is pruning time in the garden this month. Recommended you practice strict sanitation methods in your garden, especially when pruning your fruit trees, shrubs and berries, to avoid spreading any diseases.

Clean your pruning tool with a 10% bleach solution (1 part hydrogen peroxide to 9 parts water) when you finish with one plant and before you start on another.

If you are pruning a plant that has infected areas, disinfect your pruners after each cut. Or use 2 pruners…with a container or bottle of disinfectant at the ready. After making a cut, place pruners in the disinfectant and use second pruners to make the next cut. This way you, hopefully, will not spread the infection any further on the tree.

Where possible, remove infected branches by cutting 10 cm (4 inches) below the infected area and destroy the branch.