Gardening
ONE of the most common questions in gardening is: ‘How should I prune?’ Usually followed by: ‘When should I do that?’ But a bigger question is why? So, here’s a thumbnail guide. Pruning alters the way plants grow, so you can turn a naturalgrowing tree into an espalier.
And it helps to maintain plant health. Removing leggy, diseased shoots cuts the risk of infection.
We can prune to rejuvenate old or neglected shrubs, or to make certain plants — roses, wisteria, currants — flower or fruit more.
Shrubs or trees can also be cut back to maintain their size and natural appearance. In formal gardens, pruning takes place in the f orm of hedge clipping, topiary and bonsai training.
Most pruning is pretty straight- forward, but developing young fruit trees is complex.
If you want to try fan-training, cordon or spindlebush pruning, use a good manual. I swear by the RHS Encyclopedia Of Gardening (Dorling Kindersley, £35).
TO BE YOUNG AGAIN
WINTER is the season for restorative pruning. With mature, neglected trees — fruit or ornamental — thin overcrowded branches and, i f necessary, remove surplus limbs to develop an airy, hollow-centred crown.
Old or weak trees often produce upright stems, or ‘water shoots’, from main branches and the trunk. These should be removed.
New life can be given to old, bushy or exhausted shrubs by cutting the whole plant back to 60 cm, or to dormant buds at that height.
Treat big shrub roses, mock orange and viburnums in this way. But don’t hack back non-vigorous rhododendrons, witch hazel, daphnes or slow-growing shrubs.
SMALLER PRUNING JOBS
ROSES, particularly hybrid teas, floribundas and patio varieties can be pruned f airly hard between now and March. Remove any t hin, weak, ageing or awkwardly growing stems.
Cut back remaining stems to an outward-facing bud, removing about a third of the growth.
Shrub roses, or any that flower only once a year, need l ess attention. Remove old flowers and spindly or diseased stems.
Late s u mmer shrubs, particularly Buddleia davidii, some hypericums, hardy hibiscus and big hydrangeas such as H. paniculata can be pruned in late winter/early spring.
You can savage buddleias, cutting back to low buds. With hardy hibiscus, prune stems by a third. Mop-head hydrangeas need only the dead blooms removing, but cut other kinds harder back.
Spring- flowering clematis shouldn’t be touched, but those that flower from late June can be cut back hard. If you prune the wrong ones by mistake, don’t despair — you’ll only lose some of this spring’s show.
That’s the beauty of pruning: though you may make mistakes, recovery is almost inevitable.