Pruning your garden plants is a lot like taking a haircut. You are cutting away the excess and the damaged parts, making room for new and improved sprouts to grow and, after all, is said and done, the result looks fantastic. Or at least better than it was. Pruning is a natural and yearly task that you should do regularly to ensure all of your plants are progressing and growing into their healthiest versions.
1. The right time
It's important to note that there are, ideally, two time-frames in which its safest and best to do such an action. Autumn, but not too close to winter and early springtime. Also, autumn and spring pruning are not the same in terms of volume. Autumn pruning should be a preventive method and regular maintenance. You can spot sick, damaged or withered parts of your plants and cut them off before the cold season starts. In this period, focus on not cutting away more than 20% of your plant.
They will need all the help they can get to survive the winter and, you don't want to negate all the growth so far. Also, once spring comes, they can Easily continue where they left off a couple of months ago. By removing these excess and unnecessary parts you are saving your plants energy and focusing that on the more important and healthier parts. Spring pruning is giving your plants a boost. As warmer and nicer weather comes, plants race to grow as much as possible.
Then you can prune up to half of their total area if you aim to stimulate them to grow in the desired direction. Or if you want to give your plants more energy to focus on new buds and branches, then this is the ideal time to do so, but that will be relevant in a few months after spring comes.
2. One type does not fit all
The next thing you should note is that not every type of plant is pruned in the same way. A delicate rose is not the same as your sturdy tree, for example.
Let's start with the trees as they are the largest and any changes to them are easily noticeable. Dead or withering branches are just dead weight that will slow them down in the long run. Prune them to where they connect to the healthier ones. If there are healthy buds before that, you should prune to just a bit above them. This way, you are removing all the unnecessary parts, and are leaving just enough room and energy for new buds to flourish.
Some trees, especially larger once also branch a lot which covers a lot of areas. When you notice that these branches are starting to pose a threat to your property, surrounding or sidewalk, for example, it's then easy to note what the next steps are. Cutting away or shortening these branches prevents a lot of headaches and increases the overall safety of your surroundings. You can try to imagine any potential harm or damage these branches can do when you hold them in your hands after you cut them off. Now imagine that weight falling on something or someone.
Storms and strong winds that are coming can easily break and toss these branches around, which is also a potential hazard for your windows. All of these headaches can be easily prevented, with a simple snip. To minimize waste, you can then cut these beads, and remove branches to smaller and easily manageable parts. These can then, in turn, be used to light up your BBQ when all the yard work is done. Leaves, smaller branches and such can be used for composting as they make excellent biomaterial to future fuel the growth of your garden. What is dead weight and harmful for your tree, can be useful material and opportunity for you.
3. The right tool for the job
As for other smaller and delicate plants, the principle remains the same but, the methods may vary. For trees, depending on the girth of the branches and their weight you can use anything from saws, loopers to secateurs scissors, while for other smaller plants snippers, smaller shovels, de-weeder scissors and pullers. The list goes on but using quality and reliable garden accessories make this whole endeavour easier and enjoyable.
Dated and rusted tools only make this process take more time and energy, while also carrying the risk of damaging your plant. When you start to prune away with dull or inadequate tools, and you see that they aren't doing what they are supposed to, you will only start to lose your patience, and use more energy with repeating the same task to accomplish the same with brand new or maintained tools. With that in mind, smaller and down to earth plants should be examined at their base.
Weeds and sprouts can easily mix, with the latter overshadowing them. If you want your plants to grow and spread, then this is the delicate and tricky part of careful de-weeding the area around them. If not, then a handy stand-up de-weed puller can do the job.
4. Care and affection go a long way
Since you know your plants the best, you can easily notice what parts you don't want to see on them. When you notice some leaves turning yellow, leave them for a bit to see if they are withering the whole way or just partially. Then, cut away the withered parts and leave the healthy parts to rest and recoup. If the whole leaf is done for, then you can pull it out.
But it's always better to cut as pulling can damage the plant and we don't want that. All this biomaterial that you removed can also be thrown into the composting bin. Roses are a bit special as most people are afraid to cut them, seeing that their pruning can take a drastic scale. Any branch, no matter how long needs to be removed, so that your roses can focus on blooming and growing healthier parts.
Not all of them need to be shaped as round bushes as you can tunnel them or lead to growing upwards into a more sprawling look. With a bit of guidance, rope and support they can grow around your patios, pagodas or gazebos. While pruning roses can seemingly cut away too much and leave them with next to nothing, this is completely fine and natural. Well-trimmed and prunes roses produce the most flowers and flourish with such a volume that they easily dwarf the rest of the plants in your garden. And don't forget your indoor plants as well. Just because they are not out in the open, these plants also go thru the season cycles.
Left alone to their own devices, they can easily outgrow their pots or designated area. As such, they will dry themselves out as their roots won't have anywhere else to go. They can also restrict the airflow and attract more bugs and spiders as they get wilder and spread around. Trimming any household plants makes them fit into your interior design, stops the spreading of insects as you are removing any haven for them beneath the excess leaves, and makes your house cleaning that much easier. Also, unmaintained plants with withered or diseased leaves can spread that disease to other plants which is a headache that can be easily avoided with a snip.
5. A bit of tip and tricks
One method that we can look for here is the ancient easter art of Bonsai. While it sounds exotic and foreign, you can view it as simple plant training. Plants are living things, after all, and with this art form, you can channel and train them to grow in the way you want. By focusing and leaving healthier parts to grow in the way you want, you are sending the plant a clear message. They won't use or continue to grow around the part that gets continuously cut down as they also don't want to waste their time and energy. When pruning, it's important to know and educate yourself about the type of plants you want to maintain. For example, if you have a liana type plant that likes to spread around with long vines, then it's counterproductive to make it into a bush. By doing a bit of reading, you can adapt your pruning to better highlight their natural way of growing, and stimulate the plant. View this process as your helping hand to your plants on their road to being their best.
One last aspect to point out about pruning is that you can balance between bloom and foliage. Depending on your plants, personal preference and intent, you can cut away at the buds so that the plan can focus more on its foliage. Some plants have adapted to this way, and are grown to provide beautiful and lush foliage that covers a wider area. But if you are aiming to get more fragrant smells and vibrant colours, then, by removing any foliage you leave more of the plant's energy to focus on the buds which will develop into colourful flowers once spring arrives. It's all up to you and what you want to get out of your plants.
6. Hedge pruning
Your live hedges and shrubs are what need the most attention when it comes to pruning, as this task has both a healthy and a decorative part. Having a nice, well-trimmed hedge around your home is a sight to behold but, without regular pruning, from bottom to top, which can stimulate and form their growth, this can easily turn into a jungle. Hedge scissors are here for more detailed procedures. When you want to nip every single little thing that's pointing out, they are perfect for the job. But when you should always start with large and much more practical hedge shears which keep them the way you like.
Overall, pruning can be viewed as a crucial part when it comes to your garden health. Which regular and knowledgeable tools and processes, you can easily remove anything excessive or potentially dangerous to your garden, leaving it with plenty of room and energy to grow and develop into your vision. The most important step is to get started, so by simply showing motivation, you are going in the right direction. We wish you all the best in sniping and pruning away towards your ideal garden.
