Gardeners have always considered winter to be the main pruning season and many garden plants are indeed best pruned in winter. It must be stressed though, that there are some plants that should not be pruned in winter. Actually, pruning is a year-round task and should be an ongoing priority in every garden. To me, the easiest part of establishing a garden is designing and planning the landscape, followed by the actual planting of the plants and watching them grow to maturity. The most challenging aspect then follows: that of maintaining the garden by keeping all the plants in balance and proportion, making sure that each and every one maintains the desired shape and form. To achieve this objective, the art of pruning needs to be mastered, the reasons for it understood, and the knowledge applied in a practical way.

Reasons to prune
l Prune to remove all old, weakened, damaged, diseased and dead wood from trees and shrubs. This encourages healthy, strong new growth in spring.
l Prune or shear to maintain the shapes of topiary plants and formal hedges; in the case of topiaries, the less volume that is removed at any one pruning session the healthier it is for the plants.
- Prune to improve the appearance of a plant; many trees and shrubs need to be thinned out to look their best and remain healthy.
- Prune to remove suckers and undesirable rootstocks on budded and grafted plants.
l Prune certain fruit trees and vines to encourage top quality fruit crops.
- Prune to protect people and property, especially in the case of large mature trees that have branches which have died off. Trees overhanging homes and buildings should be cut back to prevent leaves and debris from damaging roofs and gutters. Plants that obscure views at entrance gates and along driveways also need to be controlled.

Roses
With a few exceptions, winter is rose pruning time, with the task best carried out between mid-July and early August. This particular subject is covered quite extensively in The Gardener from time-to-time so it should suffice for me to give you a short refresher: rip out rose briar or rootstocks that are growing from below ground level. Next, remove all dead wood and weak, spindly growth. Then prune the bushes back to approximately one third of their mature height. Make sure that all final cuts are clean and neat. Some ground cover and shrub type roses can simply be pruned back with a pair of sturdy hedge shears, removing all surplus and untidy growth.

Shrubs
Shrubs generally form the backbone of most gardens. They need to be pruned and maintained on a regular basis and winter is often the most appropriate opportunity to undertake these tasks simply because there is free time available. There are numerous pruning principles that apply to shrubs; these are a few of the most important ones to consider.
- Prune back any unwieldy or untidy growth tips with a pair of sharp secateurs to maintain a tidy growth habit.
- Cut back fast-growing flowering shrubs immediately after flowering with a pair of short-handled lopping shears. Often they are best taken down to almost ground level.
- Continue to prune hedges and topiaries with a pair of sharp hedge shears. I find it easier to use the shears ‘upside down’ when trimming shaped plants with contours and angles.
- Remove any suckers or unwanted lower branches at ground level with a curved pruning saw.
- Often large, overgrown or stressed-out shrubs benefit from a severe pruning that takes them down to knee level. This seems to give such a plant a new lease on life. Use a pair of heavy duty lopping shears to accomplish the task swiftly and efficiently. Don’t be afraid to carry out this procedure – most shrubs recover swiftly, developing into a lush ‘new’ plant.

Conifers
Winter is the correct time to give conifers a light pruning with a sharp pair of hedge shears. This encourages fresh new spring growth and maintains the neat, symmetrical shape of the plant. It also assists in keeping the conifers at more manageable sizes and thereby extends their lifespan in the garden. (Left unchecked, conifers, even if they are deemed to be of a dwarf nature, can soon become too large.

Trees
Dead or unwanted branches must be removed from the trunk of a tree with a sharp pruning saw. The recommended method is to make the first cut on the underside of the branch, about 10 cm away from the main stem, cutting about halfway through the branch. Start the second cut on the upper side of the branch, a few millimetres further away from the main stem than the first cut. Saw through until the branch falls; this leaves behind a short stump. Cut this stump off close to the main stem, using a quick sawing motion. This triple cut method will ensure a hygienic and tidy pruning wound.

Tool maintenance
Once all the pruning tasks have been completed make sure that the tools are cleaned and rubbed down with light, viscous oil. This prevents rust forming on the steel parts of the tools. Soiled or damaged blades must be rubbed down with very fine sandpaper and then oiled. Keep springs and all working parts well lubricated. Hang them back on their respective hooks in a dry, airy part of the garden shed, ready for the next pruning session.

Warning!
Don’t prune anything and everything in winter. Resist the tendency to prune every deciduous shrub during winter. Many spring- and summer-flowering shrubs set flower buds on the previous season’s new growth, so, if pruned in winter, you are literally cutting off the forthcoming flowering season’s potential blooms. The shrub types that should not be pruned in winter include Hydrangea, Weigela, Spiraea, Forsythia, Chaenomeles, Berberis and even some roses, like many of the Old English rose types, which only bloom in spring. Instead, prune these plants immediately after their spring or summer flush of flowers is over.