Amateur Gardening – 10 August 2019

10 AUGUST 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 41

Anne Swithinbank’s masterclass on:summer pruning

Q

Ihaveheardaboutsummer

pruningin thegarden.Whatis

it, andwhatshouldI becutting back?

AnnabelleKewliss,

Darlington, County Durham

A

Theartof gardeningis tohave

healthy,attractiveplantsthat

sitwelltogetherin thelandscape

of yourplot.Somearestar

performersorgrowin

well-stagedgroups,while

othersfillin andpainta

backdrop.Gettingthis

rightfrominitialplanting

is tricky,especiallyas

gardensareoftensmall

andwetendtoplantclosely

fora maturelook.This,plu

a tendencytocarryonbuy

plantsafterthegardenis f

makesregularpruninga must.

Agoodspringencouragesheavy

growth, and by late summer a garden

oftenfeelscrowded.Thereis a concept

thattreeandshrubpruningshouldtake

placein winterwhenplantsaredormant,

butmostgardenscoulddowiththinning

andtidyingrightnowtoslowgrowth,

regainorder,andpreventdamage

fromtheequinoctialgalesof autumn.

Theobviousshrubstotargetare

thosethathavefloweredandare

weringoverlawnsand

ingontheirneighbours.

e bestpruningtimeis

suallyimmediately

afterflowering,butif

youhavemissedthe

boat,don’twait until

extyear.

Thinjudiciouslyby

ngoutuptoonethird

e olderwood,targeting

rdstemsandcutting

lowdownin theplant.Thisstillleaves

twothirdsbehindonwhich flowers

canformnextyear.

What do I prune in the summer?

Body image: Alamy. All other photography John Swithinbank / TI Media

AnAprilpruningwouldhave

beenperfect,butI cancatchupby

thinningouta stemortwofromthis

youngautumn-spring flowering

Viburnum farreri.

Makingthe

right cuts

Clipevergreenslikeboxandyew,

sotheyhavea chancetomakesome

sidegrowthsandhardenupbefore

thefirstfrosts.Late-clipped box is

prone to frost damage.

Asplayedbranchis spoilingthe

shapeof thislargesnowballtree

(Viburnumopulus‘Roseum’). Remove

using a pair of loppers.

Pruningevergreenthicketsis

impossiblefromMarchtoAugust

duetonestingbirds.Now’sthetime

tothinthismassof Christmas box

(Sarcococca confusa).

Pruning fruit now

STONEfruits(suchascherries,plumsand

apricots)thatarein needof pruningshould

betackledquickly,astheyareproneto

silverleafdiseasewhensporesareactive

fromSeptembertoMay.Towardstheend

of August,prunetrainedformsof apples

andpearsbyshorteningthisseason’s

growth.Prunenon-fruitingside shoots of

kiwi plants after five leaves.

A well-prunedboxand

yewin autumnwith

hardened new growth

A largeHeptacodium

mikonioideshasyettobloom,

butI’mremovingthisstemas

it is jabbingintotheshapely

Ginkgo bilobanext door

Pruning side shoots of kiwi

Usesecateursfor

smallcuts(inset),

butchooseloppers

forwiderstemsand

pruningsawsfor

thicker branches

Anne’s

Selectyourstem,travel top tips

downandcutabovea

leafornodenearthebase

sothatnewreplacement

growtharisesfrom

low down.