HOW TO DO WINTER PRUNING

The purpose of winter pruning is to clear damaged or overcrowded growth, letting more light and air into the plant, to stimulate renewed and more vigorous growth.

Every tree and branch develops a ‘leader’ which grows longer and more vigorously than the rest of the plant. When you remove that leader, the lower shoots cease to be suppressed and will grow more vigorously, until one becomes a leader and the cycle continues. The more you remove the leader, the more the plant will bush out and thicken up. n If you wish to curtail growth, leave the pruning until the middle of summer, when the foliage is fully grown and before the roots start to store food ahead of the winter.