Pruning and cutting back is an important part of your ground maintenance regime if your plants are to give their best display or crop. Most woody ornamental plants are best pruned in the dormant season from October to March.
Sharp Secateurs
General Garden Ideas Tips
- Where plants have alternatively positioned buds on their stems, make the cut at a slight angle in the direction in which the bud is facing.
- Where buds are visible, prune just above them to prevent leaving a long ‘snag’ of stem which could encourage die-back. Allow 3-4mm so as not to damage the ud itself.
- If the plant has pairs of buds opposite each other, make the cut straight if you want both buds to grow. Alternatively cut at an angle to remove one of the pair where a single stem is required.
- For tree surgery – cut any old or dead wood at the base of the plant to encourage strong new shoots from the base. You may need to use long handled loppers for more leverage if the wood is thick and tough.
- Where stems are growing close together or crossing, cut one to prevent them from rubbing together which may damage the bark and cause die back and disease.
- Cut back flowered stems of herbaceous plants down to ground level, leaving a clump of leaves at the base. This stops the plant wasting their energy in forming seed.
- To rejuvenate old shrubs, or coppice shrubs that are grown for the colour of their stems, hard prune all the stems down to between 10 and 15cm above their base during the dormant season. Don’t worry if there are no buds visible.
