Gardeners' World: Monty Don advises on pruning lavender
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Pruning is the method of controlling the plants growth and development into specific patterns. For the most part, pruning always stimulates growth, but how severely gardeners prune a plant will depend on exactly what they want to happen. If a plant has not been regularly pruned and has been left to grow in whatever pattern comes naturally, that plant may need what is called a severe cutting back which will result in lots of new shoots and fast growth the following spring.
Eleni Veroutsos, gardening expert at BackyardBoss has shared a few common pruning mistakes to avoid so gardeners can get the most out of their pruning efforts without making any costly errors.
Pruning too early or too late in the season
Pruning at the wrong time of year “can damage or even kill your plants”, according to the gardening pro.
Those who prune too early, the plant will stimulate new growth that won’t have time to harden off before winter, leading to frost damage.
Gardeners who prune too late might remove flower buds that would have bloomed in the spring.
The expert advised: “The best time to prune most plants is in late winter or early spring before new growth begins.
“This gives the plant time to heal before the stresses of summer. However, there are a few exceptions.”
Those who are unsure of when to prune their particular plant, ask a nursery or gardening centre for advice.
Not pruning at all
Pruning is absolutely necessary to encourage healthier growth and to rejuvenate shrubs and plants.
Eleni explained: “One of the most common mistakes people make is not pruning their plants at all.
“While it may seem like extra work, pruning is essential to making sure your plants are healthy and grow properly.”
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Failing to prune your plants can lead to several problems, including:
- Overgrowth: if you don’t prune your plants, they will grow unchecked. They could become unmanageable and take over your garden.
- Pest and disease problems: if you don’t prune your plants, you might not see areas that are infested or diseased.
- Poor flowering: if you don’t prune your plants, they may not flower as well as they should. This is because plants produce flowers on new growth, which pruning encourages.
- Poor fruit production: unpruned fruit trees will produce smaller and poorer quality fruit since fruit is produced on new growth.
Over-pruning
Pruning is a vital part of plant care. It helps promote healthy growth and can even make your plants look more attractive.
But there is such a thing as too much pruning. Over-pruning can even kill your plants.
The expert said: “Similar to not pruning at all, over-pruning can be bad as well. One of the biggest dangers of over-pruning is that it can encourage excessive growth.
“This may not seem like a bad thing at first, but it can quickly get out of control.”
Excessive growth means more work for gardeners in the long run, and it can also make plants more susceptible to pests and diseases.
Another problem with over-pruning is that it can weaken the plant.
This is because pruning removes leaves and stems, which are essential for the plant’s overall health. So, how can you tell if you’re over-pruning?
Eleni advised: “One sure-fire way is to look at the plant itself. If it looks stressed or damaged, then you’re probably doing too much.
“Another way to tell is by the amount of new growth. If you see lots of new shoots and leaves, then it’s likely that you’re over-pruning.
“If you think you might be over-pruning, the best thing to do is to stop pruning for a while and see how the plant responds.
“If it starts to recover, then you were probably doing too much. If not, you might be making another common gardening mistake.”
In any case, gardeners can start pruning again, but be sure to take it slowly to ensure you don’t overdo it.
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