Clip service: how and when to prune

Saturday 9 February 2013

Fewer trees and shrubs should be pruned in late winter than is often thought.

Custom byline text:

Dave Allan

Pruning stimulates new, healthy growth, encourages good flowering and trains a plant to the desired shape and size. Unfortunately, this isn't as simple as it sounds. Knowing when to wield the secateurs is vital. Understanding how a particular plant grows leads to the knowledge of when it should be pruned. As a general, but not invariable, rule, spring and early summer-flowering plants should be pruned immediately after flowering.

On the other hand, late summer and autumn-flowering plants need pruning the following spring. They then flower on that year's fresh growth. Although you'll be busy pruning spring-flowering shrubs in two or three months' time, you should tidy some clematis this month.Clematis are divided into three groups, each requiring a separate regime. You should prune group three over the next few weeks. Clematis viticella and C texensis groups and hybrids flower in late summer on new growth, so cut all the stems right back to allow for fresh growth. You can treat groups like C Bill McKenzie in one of two ways. If you have limited space and want to restrict growth, treat them like C viticella, but you can also allow them to romp over a frame or wall and restrict pruning to one or two main stems just now.In the same way, you rarely have to prune shrubs like Cotoneaster horizontalis and philadelphus, but if you need to improve their overall shape and growth, do it now. Cut out whole branches to achieve the balanced shape you want.If you prune at the wrong time, you could be lopping off all the flower buds. Occasionally, though, you need to cut off flowering buds to improve the general shape. Some buddleias, such as the semi-evergreen B globosa, may sometimes benefit from winter pruning. Cut back damaged or poorly growing stems. If they are growing in the wrong direction, cut back by one third. Even though you lose a year's flowers, the plant will put on vigorous growth for the following year.Brightly coloured stems are especially attractive during the winter months. To enjoy the bright reds and yellows of salix or cornus, cut this winter's stems back to base since you only get these colours from fresh wands. In the same way, ornamental white-stemmed brambles need to be cut back.It's best to prune most native trees – hazel, rowan, elder, beech – now, while dormant. Once established, they shouldn't need much pruning, other than to remove dead or damaged branches. Last month's snow won't have taken any prisoners, so tidy up any damage while the tree is dormant. Cut back to a join with the parent branch or the trunk if need be. If you do need to cut out large, damaged branches, it's a difficult job and shouldn't be tackled unless you've got experience.This is also a good time for major work on apple and pear trees. The most important time to prune apples is early summer, when you cut back fresh growth to encourage the following year's fruit buds to form. But if you need to overhaul a tree by improving its overall shape and keeping the centre open to let in air and light, do it over the next two or three weeks. Again, cut out whole branches, removing them in sections from the outside to avoid damaging other branches.If you haven't pruned gooseberries or currants, do it quickly before growth starts. Autumn-fruiting raspberries should be pruned in February by cutting right back to the ground, the same way you do with summer rasps after fruiting. Self-supporting autumn varieties try to spread widely, but you should prevent this by keeping the row no wider than 45cm – remove new canes beyond that point.Visit askorganic.co.uk. Email your gardening queries to da@askorganic.co.uk

Contextual targeting label:

Weather

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Clip service: how and when to prune

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED