Pruning Trees & Shrubs

 

Before starting upon pruning any shrub or tree you should always ensure that you first check the label or refer to a reference book to find out the pruning needs of your particular plant. If you are unsure of how or when to prune then wait, it is better not to prune rather than to over prune. A lot of people ruin their trees and shrubs by pruning them too much and unnecessarily.

One of the most important things to remember when it comes to pruning trees and shrubs is to keep your tools very clean and very sharp. The reason for this is that if you use blunt or badly designed secateurs you can easily damage the stems of your trees and shrubs. Not only does this damage look dreadful but the damaged stems also become prone to infection from fungi which causes them to die back.

Always make sure your pruning cut is at an angle, this is to encourage the rain to roll off rather than settle on the plant. Make sure that you prune back to a healthy bud, facing the direction you want to encourage new growth. This is usually an outward facing bud. Also be careful that you do not cut too close to the bud in case you damage it.

Pruning trees and shrubs is important for their health. The removal of weak wood and pruning back to an outward facing bud encourages new growth and development. If you are pruning away dead wood and stems make sure that you cut well into the healthy growth. Dead or sickly growth is always best removed quickly, this is easier to do when the tree or shrub is in leaf as the dead wood is easier to see.

If you are pruning to encourage the growth of new flowering stems, or to encourage growth in an old shrub, you can remove up to one in five of the old stems and pruning back to within 7cm of the ground level. Take your time whilst pruning and don't rush it, stand back regularly to make sure that you are pruning evenly all over the plant and that it looks well-balanced.

There are a number of trees that are prolific producers of suckers (unwanted growth) from or near the base of the trunk. These suckers need to be removed immediately by either pulling or cutting them off as close to the root from which they grew. The removal of these suckers needs to be done often as their removal often stimulates more suckers to grow.

 

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