The depths of dormancy

It’s a testing time for relationships, many couples coming from opposite directions on the subject.

Bill and I are doubtless typical.

Bill prunes every winter and plans accordingly, testing handles, sharpening blades, checking weather forecasts well ahead for mild days with no wind.

I’m the polar opposite: OMG the wisteria’s coming through the laundry window, better prune it, oh no it’s frosty I’ll do it next week.

The only solution is to agree to differ.

It doesn’t matter much: all woody plants probably need cutting back at some stage of their lives but most will survive a season or so of neglect.

Be clear before you start pruning why you’re doing it.

Diseased branches – ones with unsightly surface stains – need removal and burning.

Dead ones will eventually decay back to live wood and fall off, so treat them likewise.

Branches that grow against each other and chafe, and ones growing across the centre of the plant can also be removed.

Some plants grow too fast and the resulting top heavy growth may rock their roots about, especially in a gale. Thinning branches steadies the plant, lets in light and air and hardens the wood, making it more pest and disease resistant. 

Then there’s appearance: you might want to balance the shape of a favourite shrub, or turn it into a hedge or topiary. Pruning a vigorous ornamental grape back to its main leaders prevents the build-up of layers of dead wood that keep out light and may cause a supporting arch or pergola to collapse.

A plant that’s too big is NOT a reason to prune: cutting back merely encourages growth.

If you’re pruning the same shrub every year it’s in the wrong place: too near a path, window or washing line, or overcrowding a bed.

You don’t need many tools for pruning but they should be clean and sharp.

Blunt instruments, apart from being incredibly irritating to use, leave rough edges that attract disease and fungi.

Shiny, clean tools avoid introducing unfriendly germs that may be roaming around. (I apologise for sounding like one of those cookery writers who tells you to cover with a clean cloth, like you’d purposely choose a dirty one.)

Basic manual pruning tools are small secateurs, long-handled ditto, shears and a bow saw.

Small secateurs should have a little snib-type fastener that enables you to open and close them effortlessly with one hand. Test before buying, you don’t want to be clutching a branch in one hand, only to find your secateurs are jammed shut in the other. Lever action long-handled secateurs or loppers are more effective than straight models, as the extra pressure they exert saves your muscles and allows you to cut thicker, heavier branches.

Lever action shears work similarly, allowing you to reach across broad hedges.

Lastly, when to prune flowering shrubs and trees? Golden rule of thumb is after they’ve flowered.

So cut back those that flower in summer and autumn now, but leave those that bloom in spring or you’ll lose the flowers for a year.