A passion for pruning
Feeling angry? Frustrated at a three-hour wait important to them? Try pruning.
Contrary to popular gardening wisdom, it’s not best to prune in winter. The winter scar you leave takes longer to heal, and the more time the scar is raw, the greater the chance of an infection that will slowly travel down to the roots and kill your tree. You can see this happen: an ominous line of black travels down from the cut area all the way down the trunk.
Prune in spring, so the scar mends quickly. Spring pruning also delays flowering so that your new growth is less likely to be cut by frost.
The best time of all to prune is when you are feeling obstreperous. Yell “off with their heads!” with every chop and feel your fury dissipate, though it’s best not to do this when the kids or neighbours can hear.
Grab the secateurs, small or large, or even a sturdy serrated bread or steak knife if you only have a patio’s growth to prune. I adore my tiny chainsaw attached to a very large handle, which can be extended from 1m to 2m to reach the tallest branches.
If you’re buying a single pruning tool, I recommend long-handled, larger secateurs. They’ll cut small twigs as well as larger branches. Get the best quality you can find — the cheap aluminium ones only last a few years and blunt easily. Mine are about 40 years old and still have a good sharp blade. If you have a dozen or more roses or peach trees to prune, or have aching or arthritic hands, buy a small, silent pair of electric secateurs.
Do not buy a hedge trimmer! They are far too easy to use, and you may find you slip down and cut into wood that doesn’t have a growth bud, leaving you with a dead patch in the middle of what used to be a hedge, but is now two patches of shrubbery.
Never prune ANY tree or shrub branch down to bare wood. Always leave a few leaves or a few growth buds. The exception is when you want to cut off an entire branch. Always cut off a branch as close to the trunk as possible, without leaving any stump. Paint it with a wound dressing if you can – you’ll find them at the garden centre. Many mysterious “sudden” plant deaths have actually been slow ones, as the rot creeps down. The tree or shrub abruptly turns brown when enough root has died.
Every species and variety needs to be pruned differently for the best result. Borrow a book from the library if you want to know the best way to hack at your rose bush or gardenia. But if you’re content with “a pretty good prune”, just make sure the secateurs are sharp, and that you have bought wound dressing for any scars from cut-off giant branches and disinfectant for your hands, gloves or pruning tool if there’s a hint your plants may have a virus, like mottled or twisted leaves. Both symptoms are probably from pest damage but a dip in disinfectant means you won’t transfer the virus to others. Many plant viruses don’t kill their host — they just don’t grow as vigorously, flower and fruit as plentifully. Infected passionfruit, for example, produces empty fruit.
Most roses benefit from being cut back by two thirds each year. This doesn’t need to be done in one go. I prune as I pick. Lavender also does best pruned hard after blooming, once again by about two thirds but not to bare wood. Old wood becomes gnarled and can rot.
No tree, shrub or climber has to be pruned unless it’s ugly, or you can’t reach the fruit. I’ve never pruned our apple, pear, avocado, citrus, hibiscus … add a few hundred others here. Yes, the fruit is a bit smaller than commercial fruit, but it tastes of the sun and our garden. The trees and bushes are a bit tangled, but birds adore the jungle look as they can hide their nests in them — and the birds eat our pests.
I pruned yesterday, hacking back the kiwi fruit so a friend could get past the mass of vines without scratching her ute. The kiwis have been fruiting now for 40 years, with a few “hack back to get past” incidents, but no actual pruning. We still get loads of fruit, or rather the possums, birds and fruit bats do. We get enough, and the joy of their company. And next time I feel grumpy, there is a lovely tangle I can hack into, leaving me happy with my newly shaped vines and extremely well exercised.
