6 essential rules of pruning

Prune roses annually to encourage healthy growth and masses of beautiful flowers.

Here's to your practical winter guide to pruning the right plants at the right time for healthier growth, better structure and abundant flowering to welcome your spring garden.

 

Winter is when the garden slows down. But for the gardener, it’s one of the most important times to act. With many plants dormant and their structure fully visible, winter pruning helps prevent weak, spindly growth and sets the foundation for healthy, strong new growth in spring, with a beautiful abundance of flowers.

 

Long-cuff gloves shield hands and arms from scratches, sticky sap and rough bark while pruning

 

Make sure you protect your hands with heavy-duty gloves when pruning thorny shrubs and bushes

 

1. What to prune

• Always remove the ‘three Ds’, dead, damaged and diseased wood. This applies to almost everything in the garden and creates a clean starting point before shaping your plants.

• Look for weak, spindly growth and any crossing or rubbing branches. Remove water shoots (vigorous, upright stems) and basal suckers, which divert strength from the main plant.

• For flowering shrubs, remove spent blooms and older wood to encourage new growth and more flowers. And finally, don’t be afraid to thin out crowded areas to improve light and air flow – the key to healthy growth and disease prevention.

 

Top Tips

Use sharp tools to make clean cuts that heal faster and reduce disease risk. Clean blades between plants with methylated spirits or diluted bleach, especially when removing diseased material. Cut just above an outward-facing bud to guide new growth and keep an open shape.

 

"The key to your successful pruning is knowing what to cut, where to cut, what to leave and how to make each cut count!"

Cut above an outward-facing bud to direct new growth away from the centre and create an open,well-shaped plant

Remove upright or inward-growing shoots to improve shape and airflow

 

2. For deciduous fruit trees

Winter is the ideal time to prune apples, peaches, pears and quinces.

• Remove crossing, rubbing or inward-growing branches to open the centre, aiming for a balanced framework of 3-5 main limbs spaced evenly around trunk.

• Shorten long, leggy growth by about one-third, cutting above an outward-facing bud. In congested areas, remove whole branches back to their origin rather than just trimming the ends.

• Finally, remove strong vertical shoots and avoid taking off more than 20-30 percent of the tree in one season.

For evergreen shrubs and trees

Winter is the time to prune evergreen shrubs such as murraya, viburnum, lilly pilly and camellias – with camellias best trimmed after flowering. Citrus are best pruned after fruiting and larger trees can be cut back hard to keep fruit within easy reach. 

 

Prune straggly or poorly placed shoots to improve shape and structure

Use a telescopic pruner to safely reach tall branches

3. For deciduous trees and climbers

Ornamental trees including maples, frangipani, crepe myrtles respond well to pruning at this time of year. Flowering climbers such as wisteria, clematis and bougainvillea are best pruned after flowering, with a light tidy-up in winter, if needed.

• Focus on removing congested or poorly placed growth, then lightly shape to maintain a balanced form for new growth.

• After wisteria finishes its blooms in late spring, cut back long, whippy growth to 2-4 buds to keep the plant compact and encourage flowering spurs. Avoid pruning after February if you want blooming spring flowers.

What not to prune

Don’t prune spring-flowering shrubs in winter. Prune shrubs after flowering – otherwise, you’ll miss the blooms. This includes mock orange (Philadelphus), bottlebrush, azaleagrevillea, Maybush (Spiraea), weigela, magnolia, loropetalum, deutzia.







 

Tie grasses into a bundle to make cutting easier, then trim back to ground level

Prune hydrangeas back to healthy buds to encourage strong new shoots

 

4. For perennials and hydrangeas

Now’s the time to cut back spent growth and shape plants for spring.

• Prune spent perennials such as salvia, sedum, Easter daisies, echinacea, agastache, rudbeckia, persicaria, ligularia and ornamental grasses back to ground level in late winter, just as new growth appears. Rejuvenate tired clumps every few years by digging and dividing large clumps and replanting for better growth and flowering.

• For mophead and lacecap hydrangeas, cut back to a strong, healthy pair of buds and thin out a few of the oldest stems at the base to encourage fresh growth and maintain shape. 

5. top tools

EVERY GOOD PRUNE STARTS WITH THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT.

A SHARP PAIR OF SECATEURS

is your go-to for most small stems and everyday trimming – think of them as your garden scissors.

 

LOPPERS

are ideal for thicker branches, giving you extra reach and cutting power without too much effort. We like the bypass gear- action loppers by CutAbove Tools.

 

A PRUNING SAW

makes quick work of larger limbs that loppers can’t handle. The tree pole saw by CutAbove Tools is one of our favourites.

A SHARPENING TOOL

such as a whetstone, keeps blades sharp for cleaner, easier cuts.

And don’t forget a pair of GAUNTLET GLOVES

to protect your hands from thorns and rough branches.

 

Sterilise secateurs between plants to prevent spreading disease

Thin out stems at the base to open up the centre and improve airflow

6. For all roses

Shrub roses should be pruned mid- winter. In cold frosty regions, you should wait until all frosts have passed, so that new growth is not 'frosted'. Climbing roses should be pruned after spring flowering.

• For bush roses, including hybrid teas, floribundas and David Austin varieties, reduce growth by one- third to one-half, cutting back to outward-facing buds to create an open, vase-like shape.

• Climbing roses need a lighter touch. Retain the main structural canes and tie them in horizontally along a support to encourage flowering along their length. Shorten side shoots to 2-3 buds to promote repeat blooms.