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It is essential to prune just above a bud, rather than below it. By cutting slightly above a bud – without causing damage to it – it can be encouraged to develop into a strong, healthy shoot. If the cut is below, it will leave a long piece of stem above the bud positioned below it and this may cause the stem to die back and infect the entire plant. Additionally, long snags of dead shoots on shrubs and trees look unsightly and distract attention from the beauty of the plant.

Should I cut above or below a bud?

SHARP PRUNING SHEARS

If blunt pruning shears are used, they often tear and rip the stem, making the correct positioning of a cut impossible. Pruning shears that cause this problem have usually been used to cut shoots that were too thick for them. Bypass pruning shears (also known as parrot or cross-over types) are more likely than anvil types to be damaged by cutting too thick wood. Under these conditions the blades tend to bend apart. However, anvil types when cutting too thick wood can cause bruising. Therefore, if sharp – and not used on thick wood – the bypass type leaves a more clinical cut that will heal quickly. Small pruning shear-like scissors are sold for severing herbaceous stems when cutting flowers for decoration indoors; avoid using these on woody plants as they will be strained and the stems damaged.

MIND THOSE BUDS!

When pruning, take care not to knock off or damage buds on shoots that have just been pruned. If this happens, it is necessary to cut to a lower bud (if that is in the right position).

Remember …

• Before pruning a plant, thoroughly understand its nature so that it is correctly pruned.

• When pruning peaches and nectarines remember that there are three types of buds – fruit, growth and triple buds (for a detailed explanation, see pages 68–69).

• When pruning apples and pears, remember that some varieties bear fruits on spurs and others bear them at the tips of shoots (see pages 62–65).

CUTS FOR ROSES

Until experienced, a few cuts will be made in the wrong place, either too high above a bud or too low and leaving it perilously balanced on the end of a shoot. If this happens, correct the problem as soon as possible.

Below are examples of the positions of cuts in relation to a bud, as well as using blunt pruning shears. The position of the cut on the extreme left is the ideal, where a sloping cut is about ¼ in (6 mm) above a bud.

CUTS FOR FRUIT TREES

In the same way as for roses, the perfect cut has a slight slope and is just above a bud. The texture of wood on a fruit tree is usually denser and harder than on a rose and it is essential that pruning shears are sharp.

Below are examples of the positions of cuts in relation to a bud, as well as using blunt pruning shears. The position of the cut on the extreme left is the ideal.

Philosophy of pruning shrubs

For many flowering shrubs, yearly pruning is essential to encourage the regular development of flowers. There are some that need only the occasional cutting-out of dead, aged and crossing stems, but for others the removal of flowered stems encourages the further development of flowering shoots. A few shrubs need just the removal of dead flowerheads. If pruning is neglected, a shrub’s ability to produce attractive flowers is diminished.

Do shrubs need regular pruning?

PRUNING SHRUBS: THE GENERAL IDEA

For many shrubs, the purpose of pruning is to remove old, dead and crossing shoots, as well as those that produced flowers. This encourages the development of fresh shoots.

PRUNING EVERGREEN SHRUBS

These are clothed in leaves throughout the year, with new ones being formed and old ones falling off. Do not prune evergreens in winter; mid- or late spring is the best time, just when growth is beginning. However, if the plant is flowering, defer pruning until the blooms fade. The usual reasons for pruning evergreen shrubs are to create shapely plants and to prevent them crowding out their neighbors.

Examples of evergreen shrubs include Berberis darwinii, Viburnum tinus, Hollies, Olearia x haastii, Choisya ternata, Phillyreas and most Escallonias.

EARLY-FLOWERING SHRUBS

Early-flowering deciduous shrubs – flowering from spring to mid-summer – are pruned as soon as their flowers fade. This gives a shrub a long period during the rest of summer and into early autumn in which to produce fresh shoots that will ripen and be frost-hardy by winter. From spring to midsummer of the following year these shrubs bear flowers on new stems.

Examples of early-flowering deciduous shrubs include Deutzias, Philadelphus, Ribes (Flowering Currants), Weigelas and Syringa (Lilacs).

Details of pruning these shrubs are given on pages 20–39.

Prune early-flowering shrubs as soon as their flowers fade, cutting out old, dead, crossing and flowered shoots.

EVERGREENS FOR FLOWER ARRANGEMENTS

Many evergreen shrubs are in demand by flower arrangers, especially during winter when there is a shortage of other plants. When cutting foliage, always take shoots from the back of the plant and select them from several different positions. Use pruning shears to cut stems just above a leaf-joint.

LATE SUMMER-FLOWERING SHRUBS

Late summer-flowering deciduous shrubs are pruned during the following late spring. This encourages the development of shoots that will bear flowers later in the same year. If these shrubs were pruned as soon as their flowers faded in late summer or early autumn, any shoots that developed from the cuts could be damaged or killed by cold winter weather.

Examples of late summer-flowering deciduous shrubs include the popular Buddleja davidii (still often known as Buddleia davidii; Butterfly Bush), Ceanothus ‘Gloire de Versailles’ and Tamarix pentandra (Tamarisk). Incidentally, do not confuse this Tamarisk with the related Tamarix tetrandra, which flowers in spring and should be pruned as soon as the flowers have faded.

Details of pruning late summer-flowering deciduous shrubs are given on pages 20–39.

Prune Buddleja davidii (Butterfly Bush) in late spring, radically cutting out all stems.