Autumn Pruning:
Whilst the main pruning time for trees and shrubs is in the dead of winter, autumnal pruning of certain shrubs, climbers & fruiting plants can help. Here’s our beginner's guide to keep you on the right track this Autumn:
What tools to use:
- Secateurs: for cutting stems up to 1cm thick
- Loppers: for cutting stem up to 2cm thick
- Pruning Saw or Bow Saw for larger stems
- Shears for cutting hedges, lavender, santolina etc
How to Prune:
Always check the pruning requirements of the individual plant you intend to prune, however here are some general golden rules:
Golden Rule No 1: Look after your tools
- Dry and clean down after use
- Always ensure tools are as sharp as possible as blunt cuts can allow disease to establish in the wound
Golden Rule No 2: Where you prune does matter:
- Always cut back to a leaf, bud or branch. Don't leave a snag of wood that might become diseased.
What to Prune:
Shrubs:
- In early autumn, lightly prune rock garden shrubs (helianthemum, cistus, lithospermum) to ensure good shape.
- Finish cutting back your silver-leaved plants (lavender, helichrysum, santolina and thyme) back to where you see signs of new growth.
- Lightly prune larger shrubs such as phlomis and senecio after flowering, removing spent flowers and thinning out old wood.
- You should really wait until the onset of winter to hard prune deciduous shrubs so as to minimise the risk of fungal spores infecting the cut. Also once their leaves have dropped you’ll be able to see far better where pruning is required. However it’s always a good idea to cut out any diseased or dead wood. It’s also sensible to trim back any overly leggy growth to ensure good shape.
- Don't be tempted to prune hydrangeas - the dead flowers will protect buds from the frost - or early-flowering shrubs such as ceanothus and forsythia because they flower on wood that grew through the summer.
Trees:
- Most trees are really best left to be pruned in late Autumn/Winter when they have gone dormant, in order to minimise the risk of fungal spores infecting the cut.
- Conifers require little or no regular pruning except the removal of dead or diseased branches in late Summer.
Climbers:
- Deciduous climbers such as Virginia Creeper & Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus) are also worth pruning following leaf drop.
Roses:
- Autumn is a great time to prune climbing and rambling roses as soon as the leaves have fallen. Cut back flowering stems to two leaf buds, and remove any excessively old or woody stems.
- Hybrid-teas & Floribundas can be pruned by up to a third to reduce the risk of wind-rock over the Winter months.
Hedges:
- Give evergreen hedges & topiary (box, laurel, leyland) a final trim before Winter.
- However don’t prune hard those hedges that provide a source of fruit and berries for birds and wildlife during the Winter months, although it’s advisable to remove any stray shoots that may have appeared over Summer.
Fruit:
- Fruit pruning is a relatively specialist topic so there is probably too much detail to go into here, and if you’re unsure then you’d be best advised to consult a specialist reference guide or ask one of our trained horticulturists in the garden centre.
- However the basic things to look for are:
- Pruning wall-trained peaches and nectarines after fruiting. Cut out the old fruited shoots and tie in as many new growths as you can fit in to replace them.
- In late Autumn, start to winter-prune apples, pears and bush fruits.
If you have any further enquiries on Autumn Pruning, please email us on
info@webbsofwychbold.co.uk and we’ll refer you query to one of our inhouse specialists.
