How to Prune

Before you start clipping, it’s best to know what you’re looking to remove. Prune any dead, dying, or diseased branches.

If you’re dealing with disease, cut well below any affected areas and don’t prune when it’s wet outside, since water can spread the harmful stuff. You’ll also want to cut back any limbs encroaching on walkways or mown areas so they don’t get broken off. Thinning branches in general also allows more sunlight and air to reach the centre of trees and shrubs. Get the right gear for the job. Drop into your local garden centre as each of us have different grips and strenghens. Make sure they are durable yet lightweight. Some have rolling gears which help prevent cramping of your hand. Try to buy the best you can afford and get them sharpened regularly.

You should have deadheaded all the perennials by now if not there is still time to cut the heads off now. After the first frost, cut down and mulch the area well for next year’s growth. However, you should skip clipping and dead heading if the dried flowers or seeds are useful for propagation. During the Autumn it is best not to clip woody plants as at that time of year they don’t produce a protective tissue called callus. Fungal spores, bacteria, and insects could find a foothold in open wounds.

As we move into Winter it is a great time to prune many trees and shrubs since insect and disease pressure is minimized, and the plant architecture is clearly visible. Start by removing any dead, damaged, or hazardous limbs. Clip the unwanted side shoots, as well as any crossed or rubbing branches. Somes of the species suited for winter pruning include poplar, spruce, junipers, fruit trees including cherries and plums. Don’t be tempted to prune your roses yet.

What else to do in November? November is the ideal month to start making plans for next year. Be ruthless with plants that performed badly; remove and replace with a better variety. Make notes of all your good ideas, ready for next year.

Don’t be too efficient during your final tidy up of the year. Provide over-wintering nooks and crannies for our helpful garden creatures such as hedgehogs, toads and ladybirds. Leave tufty grasses, small log heaps and piles of leaves to keep them safe until next spring. They’ll reward you by being on hand to control early pests.

Soil matters Keep off wet soil in all parts of the garden to avoid compacting and damaging the structure. If you absolutely have to walk on it in the wet, stand on a plank to spread your weight. This is especially important for clay soil.

Protect bare soil during the winter months. Use autumn leaves as a mulch (cover) during winter weather. Don’t worry if there are fungi growing in the leaves; they won’t harm your plants.

Don’t stop weeding. Hoe off/pull out any annual weeds, and dig out perennial ones that are revealed. Compost green foliage, but not seed heads nor perennial weed roots.

Continue to collect fallen autumn leaves and pile them, keeping them damp, in large bin bags or heaps, to make leaf mould.

Composting Avoid bonfires. If the compost bin is still overflowing, just store excess material in bags until the heap subsides enough for more to be piled in.

Leaves with blotches are safe to compost as their diseases are generally air-borne and composting will break it all down. However, never add plant roots with soil-borne diseases such as Brassica club-root and onion white rot. Their spores will survive the composting process.

Give the heap a turn to aerate and stimulate the composting processes.

Check its consistency - if too dry add wet materials like nettles and green weed foliage and water them in. If too wet, add scrumpled junk mail, cardboard and small twigs which are good high-carbon materials and will aerate the heap.

Wood-waste needs to be composted until it’s thoroughly broken down, black and crumbly. Soaking large piles of shreddings with nettle tea will speed up the process. Alternatively, use fresh shreddings as path-coverings to keep feet mud-free in wet weather. Sharing the hire-costs of a shredder with neighbours is an economical way of dealing with piles of prunings. n