Pruning

• Pruning is a rewarding task as the results of what you have done are easily visible
• Pruning has a huge impact on the future growth, flowering and fruiting of plants
• Removing waste material from plants, cutting it up and transporting it to a compost heap provides movement and exercise for the whole body
• Whilst alot of gardening pruning is relatively light work, it is still good exercise as it involves stretching and reaching

• As pruning involves the use of sharp tools, make sure children are supervised at all times. If you are unsure whether your child can safely use secateurs, get them to use a small two-handled pair of loppers instead. For example, they can use these to cut up the plant material you remove from plants into small pieces ready for composting. As the child will have both hands on the tool at the same time there will be less chance of injury
• Explain the principles of pruning before starting and then ask them to identify a node or growth point on different plants
• Offer them specialist cutting tools as referred to in the ‘Equipment to use’ section below. These may make the task easier. Smaller secateurs and ‘snips’ are available which will be easier for a child to hold and operate

• If you are unsure or lacking in confidence, practice your pruning technique on robust and forgiving plants like willow and buddleia. You can practice where to cut and how much to remove
• Before starting, walk around the plant and imagine how you would like it to look and then plan how to achieve that shape by making pruning cuts. At the same time, consider how it will look in the coming months
• Make sure cutting tools are sharp. This will not only make the task easier but safer too
• Use specialist secateurs as described in the ‘Equipment to use’ section below as they can reduce the strain on hands
• Use extendable loppers to increase your reach safely
• Be realistic about what you can achieve. If the job is too big to tackle alone, consider asking someone to help or getting professional help

Pruning is carried out for a number of reasons: to help shape recently planted trees and shrubs (formative pruning); to maintain their current shape; or to reduce plants that have been left to grow wild (restorative pruning). Generally, we want to encourage health and vigour in our plants and pruning can help achieve this. For example, fruit trees and shrubs can be pruned to encourage fruiting.

The basic principles of pruning involve removing dead, dying and diseased growth as well as branches which are crossing or rubbing. Clear space in the centre of the plant if it is overcrowded and use sharp and clean tools to make cuts so that the risk of spreading disease from one plant to another is reduced.

Sharper tools are less likely to crush plant material as they cut and take less effort to use. Everyone has their own preference for pruning tools. Secateurs and loppers can have bypass or anvil type blades. There are a huge variety available and it’s worth trying some out at a garden centre if you don’t already own a pair to see what suits you. See the ‘Equipment to use’ section below for further advice.

When pruning, always cut above a ‘node’ (growth point where buds and leaves originate). This is done as the stem above the growth point will die back to the node and that dead material will be broken down by fungi and bacteria which could transfer to the plant. Ideally, choose an outward facing bud and the cut should slope backwards away from the node, but this is not essential, especially on smaller stems.

The best time to prune your trees and shrubs depends on a number of factors but we can make some generalisations that can help us to understand a plant’s needs. In general, deciduous trees and shrubs can be safely cut in the wintertime when dormant, but outside of this period may still be appropriate depending upon the flowering period.

For plants that flower November to June e.g., kerria, ribes, these are best pruned after flowering. If you prune before this, the new growth will not have time to form buds for flowers. For later flowering plants (July to October), they can be pruned in spring down to two or three buds of last year’s growth and they will then have time to send out new shoots and form buds in time for flowering. Evergreen shrubs are also best pruned after flowering.