Gardeners’ World: Monty Don on growing hydrangeas
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Pruning is done for a variety of reasons – to promote bigger harvests, get newly-planted trees and shrubs off to a good start, encourage flowering, shape plants, remove diseased wood and promote vigour. With a few exceptions, all of these jobs can be done in winter, when bare stems make the job of shaping shrubs and spotting diseased growth much easier. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Andy Tait, gardening expert at True Green Nursery which five garden plants should be pruned in winter and how.
He said: “These are the five garden plants that should be pruned in winter, and the best way to prune each of them.
“Pruning is important for keeping your plants healthy and ensuring they produce abundant blooms during the growing season.”
1. Forsythia
Flowering in early spring they bring the garden alive with a burst of sunshine yellow, if pruned correctly forsythia can be a real asset to the garden.
Andy noted: “Forsythias should be pruned in winter when it is dormant.” However, it’s important to note that the plant won’t produce any flowers in the first spring after hard pruning.
The pro continued: “To do this, cut back any old woody stems by about one third to encourage new growth for the following season.”
This will also stop the bush from becoming congested and improve air circulation, reducing the risk of disease.
These plants need to be pruned once a year in order to maximise flowering and stop them from getting very overgrown.
2. Spirea
The beautiful spirea shrub has long-lasting blooms and is quite popular in home gardens. It fits into almost any landscape and provides abundant greenery and flowers in the spring and summer months.
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One downside, though, is that the spirea plant begins to look weary and ungainly if not pruned correctly. Andy said: “Spirea needs to be pruned in winter when it is dormant.
“Pruning will help to promote more compact growth and encourage flowering. To prune, cut out any dead or diseased stems first then shorten the remaining branches by one third of their length.”
3. Hydrangea
The secret to happy, healthy hydrangea blooms lies in if or when they are pruned. Of course, there’s a lot to be said for fertilising and providing the right location. However, those efforts will be all for not if gardeners don’t prune correctly.
Andy advised: “Prune your hydrangeas in winter when they are dormant. Begin by removing any dead, damaged or diseased stems. Then shorten the remaining longer branches by one third of their length.”
This relates to hydrangeas that bloom on new wood. The pruning promotes new, sturdy growth, which provides the blooms next season.
4. Weigela
Pruning weigela rejuvenates the plant and helps to promote more stunning blooms during the spring as well as the stately green foliage throughout the rest of the growing season.
The plant guru said: “It is essential to prune weigela in winter to keep them healthy and so that they produce abundant blooms.”
To do this Andy instructed that gardeners cut out any dead, damaged or diseased stems first, then remove any old woody growth from the base of the shrub. He added: “To encourage bushy growth, shorten the remaining branches by one-third of their length.”
5. Clematis
Clematis need to be pruned regularly to prevent them becoming a tangled mass of stems.
Without pruning the plant will become bare at the base, with all of the flowers high up on the plant. Regular pruning encourages strong growth and flowering and keeps the plant within bounds.
Similarly to the previous plants mentioned, Andy explained that to prune them, start by removing any dead, damaged or diseased stems.
He added: “Then cut back the remaining stems to a pair of healthy buds just above the ground. This will encourage new growth and abundant flowering.”
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