In love with planting: In next week’s AG, I start getting ready for another year of gardening, including planting one of our favourite shrubs, the bleeding heart (Dicentra formosa).
Pruning and aftercare Complete the task safely, successfully and with no waste
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Cut to a healthy outward-facing bud to avoid congesting the centre of the tree or shrub. Regular annual pruning also promotes blossom and fruiting.
When pruning high or difficult branches, stand on a balanced platform or ladder and use long-handled loppers for easier cutting.
Clear weeds and grass so they can’t compete for food and water. Don’t forget to feed and mulch trees and shrubs after pruning.
Waste not, want not. Chop up small prunings for the compost heap and gather up longer ones to use as pea sticks and plant supports this summer.
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Hard prunin Old roses that have When trees been pruned hard and shrubs ar should regenerate well left to grow unchecked, they can become an unruly tangle of branches and weak stems. This not on unsightly, but can also cause a reduction in flowering and fruiting. Bring it back to life with some hard, or renovation, pruning. In the first year, take out dead, damaged, diseased and congested growth to ground level and remove half the shrub. Trim remaining stems by one half. The following year thin out excessive new growth and shorted remaining branches. In the third year, remove any remaining older stems before returning to a normal annual pruning regime. Feed and mulch well after each pruning. There may be no flowers for a season or two after renovation pruning, but the eventual result should be a stronger plant and improved blossoms and cropping. If you plan to hard prune an old tree or shrub, it is worth taking cuttings as an insurance policy in case it doesn’t recover afterwards.
Trees and shrubs that need leaving alone for now ALTHOUGH most trees and shrubs can be pruned now, especially those that lose their leaves in autumn, there are some that should be left alone. Most obviously, these include early
Leave early flowering shrubs such as forsythia alone until after they have blossomed
flowering varieties such as forsythia, Spores of the fungal disease silver camellia and philadelphus that flower on leaf (Chondrostereum purpureum) are prevalent in autumn and winter, and the previous year’s growth. Cut them can infect several deciduous species back now and they won’t produce are pruned now. blossom, so leave them alo hese include stone fruits, until they have flowered. wthorn and poplars. Foliage The sooner you cut evelops a silvery sheen and them back after their ffected branches may die blooms have faded, the nd develop an irregular longer they will have to rk stain in their centre as produce flowering stems l as bracket fungi. Avoid for next year’s colour. Prune evergreens in sk of silver leaf by pruning You should also leave mmer when spores evergreens alone as they a warmer weather are dormant. generally less hardy than deciduous Similar leaf-silvering symptoms varieties and sub-zero temperatures without the dead wood, called ‘false may damage or kill off cut stems. silver leaf’, can be caused by cold, Wait until the weather has warmed draughts and stress. up in late spring. 1 FEBRUARY 2020 AMATEUR GARDENING
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