The RAFF Group guide to pruning
By Kate - RAFF Group Nursery CSO, September 2024
Pruning is a gardening technique that helps maintain the health of your shrubs, trees and perennials while also encouraging stronger growth. Here are some tips to take the mystery out of pruning and how to clean up your plants properly.
Remove anything damaged, diseased, and dead
A good starting point with pruning any plant is to remove any damaged, diseased, and dead stems and branches when you notice them.
Affected stems and branches attract insects and further disease which will result in further damage spreading throughout the plant.
While removing affected stems and branches, you should remove crossing branches, water sprouts (upright growing shoots that form on trunks) and suckers (vigorous shoots that develop new or from below the ground).Timing, Timing, Timing
When it comes to pruning, a good rule of thumb is to wait until the main flowering or fruiting periods so that the growth cycles aren’t interrupted and provide more time for recovery in time for the next flowering.
As for the above point, any time is the right time to remove dead stems and branches.
Off with the Deadhead
Now that you’re removing the damaged stems, you should also remove the old flowers (known as deadheading). This allows your plants to put more energy into flowering and foliage.
Deadheading your plants will make them look fresh and clean which can be done with annuals and herbs.Cut on the angle
We’ve gone through what and when to prune, but we haven’t gone through the how. Taking the secateurs to your plant, you should make a cut at a 45-degree angle with the lowest point opposite the node/bulb.
Note - It’s best not to prune in winter as this exposes your plants to colder weather that could damage new growth.
Now that you’re armed with some handy tips on pruning your garden, you won’t have to be afraid of tidying up your garden this spring.
Come to your closest RAFF Group today store to speak with our nursery team to get the advice you need to look after your garden.
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