'Old Farmer's Almanac' can help in the search for seed catalogs

Q: You suggested curling up with a cup of tea and perusing seed catalogs during the downtime of the dormant months. Where can I get some seed catalogs to curl up with? — B.T., Albuquerque

A: Into my search engine I typed “free seed catalogs” and voila!, the first site that popped up into my world was one from “Old Farmer’s Almanac.” I have to admit I didn’t go too deep, but they do have a listing of “2024 seed catalogs.” Now just scrolling down the listings there are lots of companies that do offer free catalogs by mail and most list an online catalog.

I will caution that you pay attention when and if you choose to request any seed catalogs. But I figure that a company as long-lived as “Old Farmer’s Almanac” wouldn’t be shady in the least. So, into a computer it’s as simple as typing “free seed catalogs” and a whole world is offered to help keep you occupied during this downtime. Hope this helps your search.

Q: I know you’ve written about mock orange shrubs before, but I have a concern with mine. It’s very crowded with several, more than half of the trunks, being at least four-year-old wood. They are at least an inch and a half thick. Also, there is a pushy trumpet vine using the mock orange as a trellis so to speak. Can I thin the mock orange, and should I get rid of the trumpet vine, and can I do any of that now? — U.O., Albuquerque

A: Let’s start with the trumpet vine. Yes, I will recommend that you get as much of what you call a pushy trumpet vine cut out of and dug up now as humanly possible. It’s cold out now so I really understand if being outdoors, snipping away at the trumpet vine isn’t something you want to do but aim to get the majority pulled out of and snipped away by the end of the month. Depending on how tangled the vine is in the mock orange, it sounds like it’ll be quite a bit of work.

Don’t wait until it starts to grow in late February/early March before you tackle this chore. It’s not a good thing to allow the vine to grow on and through the shrub. So depending on how determined you are will decide how soon you eradicate the vine. Aim to pull up or dig out as much of the below ground root system as you can to insure the complete removal of this interloping vine.

Now as to the crowding of the mock orange. I’m going to suggest that while it’s dormant you get down and really look at the trunks. And not from one side either. Look deeply all the way around this shrub. Having done that you will get a handle on which trunks you think need to go, and yes, I agree that by removing several of the older, stout trunks the shrub will rebound and perform better.

Now that said, I want you to tie a piece of ribbon or twine on the trunks you’ll have chosen to eliminate. Then be a tad patient. All I’ve learned is that the mock orange is best pruned after its bloom, like lilacs and forsythia. Those older trunks, the ones you’ve marked with ribbon or twine, should be cut as near to ground level as you can, making sure that you aren’t cutting or maiming any other parts of the shrub.

For the time being you could go ahead and remove a few of the trunks that you want to go, but I’d wait to take the majority until after bloom, which is why you’ve marked them with ribbon so you know who gets to be removed later in the season. Cutting out several of the oldest trunks will make for a more lovely mock orange in the long run, but just wait to do the most of it, OK?

Happy Diggin’ In!

Tracey Fitzgibbon is a certified nurseryman. Send garden-related questions to Digging In, Albuquerque Journal, 7777 Jefferson St. NE, Albuquerque, N.M. 87109, or to features@abqjournal.com.