Forgot to prune

Posts

• Allotment Boy Posts: 6,774

  December 2023

  As long as frost is not expected for a few days follow,  you can certainly prune roses any time in winter.  As for other shrubs it depends on what they are. 

  AB Still learning
  
  

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• Pete.8 Posts: 11,340

  December 2023 edited December 2023

  I generally leave everything until Spring.
  It looks a bit tatty, but provides cover for little creatures, dead flower heads may have seed for birds and the general cover of dead plant material suppresses weeds that may appear.
  Some shrubs may get frosted ends if we have a harsh winter and these can be trimmed off in the Spring thus preserving new buds farther back on the branch.
  On the downside leaving dead plant material on the ground could also harbour pests and diseases, but I don't think that's been a problem for me.
  You can prune roses back by about 1/3 now to prevent windrock over winter and then do any 'proper' pruning in early Spring.

  
  Billericay - Essex
  
  Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
  Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

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• NormandyLiz Posts: 788

  December 2023

  I'm leaving most things till spring. I only deadhead anything really messy or that I don't want to spread too much, as @Pete.8 says the rest is for the birds and anything else that wants a nibble. 
  
  But, I don't have a 'tidy' garden at the best of times (informal is the polite word) so it's in keeping. 

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• Fairygirl Posts: 55,117

  December 2023

  It will depend on the shrubs as to the timing. Pruning at the wrong time can mean taking off the flower bearing stems. If you mean Verbena bonariensis, they can benefit from the protection of exisiting stems, depending on your location/climate.
  For most perennials, it can depend on how bothered you are about the way they look, but dead foliage on the crown of some plants can be a problem in prolonged, very wet conditions. I clear it from things like peonies, for example. Plants with large foliage can also look really tatty, and can cover emerging bulbs etc,  so I remove those as they die back. Ligularias are a good example of that. 

  It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
  
  
  
  I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...

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• Liriodendron Posts: 8,328

  December 2023

  For shrubs, a general rule of thumb is to prune anything flowering in spring and early summer, like forsythia or philadelphus, straight after flowering.  This gives them time to produce new growth, on which the flower buds form for the next year.  If you prune spring-flowering shrubs now, you'll be cutting off the flower buds, so those are better left unpruned for the moment.  
  
  If you know what the shrubs are, the RHS site on the internet is helpful in telling you when to prune.  If anything is really in need of renovation, you can do that sort of pruning in winter for all but the tender ones.  You'll often lose a year's flowers, but will get good growth and a better shaped shrub as a result.

  Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.

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• nickdiligent Posts: 13

  December 2023

  Thanks everyone for your answers . Very helpful .

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