Pruning for better results

As long as you keep to a few basic rules, pruning is not complicated - it can even be enjoyable. Prune little and often to keep your plants under control and in good health; it left for years pruning will build up into a massive task. Not all shrubs must be pruned each year, but they should be checked and lightly trimmed when they get untidy. It is important to know a little about the shrubs that you grow, to determine when and how to prune them.

When pruning, make as clean a cut as possible to avoid damaging the plant Try to prune to an outward-facing bud or pair of buds. On shrubs with lots of thin stems, such as lavender, Melalenca incana, Geraldton wax and Senna artemisioides, it is not easy or practical to make such a precise cut, so in order to save time, prune them with garden shears. After a few weeks they will lose their stark appearance.

Rejuvenating an old shrub

Old, overgrown, multi-stemmed shrubs can be rejuvenated by pruning them over several seasons. In the first year, in early spring, cut out a quarter to one-third of the old wood as low down in the plant as possible. This will encourage strong new shoots to grow. When the new growth is at its maximum - probably in mid summer - trim it back by one-third to make the plant bushier. In the second year, cut back the remaining old wood to leave only the new growth from the previous season.

Pruning Tips

• Do use the right tool - secateurs for finger-thick branches, loppers for branches up to 3 cm thick, a pruning saw for anything bigger.
• Do make as clean a cut as possible.
• Do prune out all dead, diseased or damaged wood before starting to prune a shrub to shape.
• Do cut out any frost-damaged shoots once frost-free weather has arrived.
• Do remove any shoots with all-green leaves on variegated shrubs as soon as they grow, or they will take over.
• Don't worry about pruning to a bud if the plant has thin, wiry stems.
• Don't prune on wet, cold days, because wet foliage makes the job unpleasant. Choose a fine, dry day.
• Don't prune if in doubt or unless the shrub really needs it.