Pruning blueberries and other fruit trees

Another lovely Sunday in Canberra in the winter. The sunrise this morning was a sight to behold - looking up to Mt Majura where the clouds were pink and soft dark blue as the sun rose to paint them! Just gorgeous! It's possibly the best time of year for sunsets and sunrises I think.

We pruned our plum trees today - photos to come shortly on our Flick page. Simon found a great interactive PDF guide from Flemings in Victoria on pruning - most useful guide I've seen to date.

I also did some quick research on pruning blueberries and found this from Growing Wisdom. There are other short informative videos too. It's hard not to go past Gardening Australia and the info on their website, particularly as it relates more to our own climate and seasonal cycles!

Blueberries pruning

Take 2: Kamal Meattle on how to grow your own fresh air

Kamal Meattle on how to grow your own fresh air

OK, so in addition to the video I blogged yesterday, and in response to a couple of comments, here's a screenshot of the three plants Kamal refers to in his talk.



I should have also mentioned that the video is just under 5 minutes, for those who like to know!

I did some more searching and found more of a 'list' of 'greening and cleaning' indoor plants from Tricia Edgar at Houseplants:

Dr Bill Wolverton, a former NASA scientist who conducted 25 years of research on indoor plants and their ability to purify air in enclosed environments, wrote the book How to Grow Fresh Air (Penguin, 1997) which describes 50 plants that clean office air. These plants include:

• Corn plant (Dracaena Massangeana)
• English Ivy (Hedera helix)
• Gerbera daisies (Gerbera jamesonii)
• Golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
• Madagascar Dragon Tree (Dracaena)
• Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)
• Rubber plant (Ficus elastica)
• Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
• Sword or Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata)
• Weeping fig (Ficus benjamina)

There are also some plants that can remove chemicals in the office environment:

Formaldehyde is often found in particle board products used in office furniture. It is also found in cleaning agents. Philodendron, spider plant, weeping fig, and golden pothos are good at removing formaldehyde from the air. Benzene is found in glue, paint, and plastics. Plants that remove benzene include gerbera daisy, golden pothos, English Ivy, Peace Lily, Gerbera Daisy, Madagascar Dragon Tree. Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a product used in printing ink, paint, and dry cleaning. Peace lilies, Golden Pothos, Gebera Daisy, and English Ivy remove TCE.

Read Tricia's full article.

For more discussion on the use of office plants, you might like to check out Green Building Council Australia. Their premise is that there is no such thing as 'indoor plants' and plants work hard to survive indoors, but some are more able to adapt than others.

And, if you're still not sure, just got and pick a fresh bunch of flowers to brighten up your (indoor) day! :o)

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