Maintain your plant momentum
Time to start pruning, planting, mowing, sowing, and hoeing!
Last weekend’s gardening activity was significant in that it represented a statement of intent for the growing season. Now we must build on that, pruning and planting, mowing, sowing, and hoeing, to maintain momentum. Life would be much simpler if all ornamental shrubs could be pruned in one fell swoop but we can’t because they flower at different times.
There are several hardy types that have given their all to entertain with blooms over a six-months period from deepest autumn last year.
They are now in need of a trim and treat. By removing spent flowering stems and sprinkling a general fertiliser at the base of each, we can control the height and encourage new flowering stems that will ripen throughout summer.
Yellow blooms of the hardy winter jasmine (J. nudiflorum) have been attractive since last November but now they’ve faded we can prune to encourage young growth.
This shrub develops a thicket of stems without regular attention so thinning-out every other year is worthwhile.
With two specimens trailing over the soil and walls of raised beds, ground hugging stems to root independently.
We’ve just potted up six new plants as a result.
Two viburnums, the evergreen V. tinus and deciduous V. bodnantense ‘Dawn’ have supported displays of white and pink flowers respectively all winter. The latter variety has blooms with a delightful fragrance. Now they need the annual prune that keeps them under control.
But we must wait until two further members of this genus (V. juddii and V.carlesii), both highly fragrant, have performed. They’ve just started to bloom.
The glorious yellow blooms of forsythia are still an attraction from a distance, but close inspection reveals they are weather damaged and fading.
Follow all stems that have supported flowers down to a point just above where new growth appears and snip.
Something similar is happening to the ribes (flowering currant) so quite soon it will be trimmed.
May is a good time to prune broad-leaved evergreen shrubs and two candidates in this garden are about to realise that.
Elaeagnus and aucuba are both variegated, lending themselves to delivering small stems for foliar arrangements any time of year.
However, they are ready for a selective clip that will arrest their rampant growth.