Pruning is essential for healthy growth as it encourages shrubs to produce more blossoms.
Make sure your garden shears, secateurs or saws are sharp and well-oiled, and if you don't yet have these, you will find a wide selection in the Garden Centre at your local Builders.Amateur gardeners are often put off pruning because they don't understand why it's necessary and how it's done.
Once you understand that pruning allows you to shape and strengthen shrubs and trees, you’ll be keen to perform this task on an annual basis.
Winter is the best time for pruning as most plants are dormant and there is less chance of infection on the cut ends.
July is the best month to do all your pruning because this is the time when plants are most dormant. If you're in a winter rainfall region, wait until the beginning of August to do your pruning.
Make sure your garden shears, secateurs or saws are sharp and well-oiled, and if you don't yet have these, you will find a wide selection in the Garden Centre at your local Builders.
Peach, plum, nut trees, apple, pear and apricot trees should be trimmed mid-winter before new growth.Clean cuts with sharp tools allow the plant to heal faster.
Good to know
If you’re pruning a variety of plants, disinfect your tools with vinegar to prevent the risk of cross-infection.
Tips for pruning
Before you begin, consider what shape you’d like your shrubs to take. This is very much like giving your plants a haircut, so you should start off conservatively, trimming off a little at a time. Here’s how…
1. Remove damaged, dead or diseased branches, as well as straggly stems. To check if the wood is dead, use a knife to scrape off the bark. If the wood is still healthy, you’ll find (green) live tissue under the bark.
2. Cut away any branches that cross over or rub against each other.
Apply plant sealer to the cut edges to prevent the risk of infection of disease.3. Follow the stems back to their origin then cut away neatly. Cut away stems growing out from large branches or the trunk of the shrub or tree. The idea is to thin out the plant for more growth and to allow more light to reach the new growth.
4. Trim to the desired shape to give your plants a strong structure on which to base future growth.
5. Apply plant sealer to the cut edges to prevent the risk of infection of disease.
Pruning timetable
Use the below table as a guideline for pruning in the garden in both summer and winter rainfall regions. Any pruning should be done before mid-August.
| Type of plant | Example | When to prune |
| Ornamental trees | Frangipani, flowering cherries, poinsettia | July |
| Deciduous fruit | Peach, plum, nut trees, apple, pear, apricot | Mid-winter before new growth |
| Citrus trees | Orange, lemon, grapefruit | July |
| Grapevines | Various | After their leaves have fallen |
| Deciduous shrubs | Hydrangeas | Early August |
| Evergreen shrubs | Hibiscus, abutilon, fuchsias, duranta | When finished flowering |
| Indigenous shrubs | Wild dagga, ribbon bush, barleria, butterfly bush, mackaya bella, plectranthus | When finished flowering |
| Herbs | Rosemary | July |
| Bush roses | Hybrid tea floribunda | Late winter before new leaves appear |
| Climbing roses | Banksia | When finished flowering |
| Climbers | Jasmine, Plumbago | July |
Article courtesy of www.home-dzine.co.za.
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