YOUR PRUNING MONTH

Frances Tophill shows you how to get summer-flowering shrubs back in shape ready for spring

- Frances Tophill

Shape up your shrubs

SHRUBS that make long shoots in one season, like buddleia, need to be cut back annually. Leaving this job until the end of winter helps the plant cope with cold weather but means it will be in great shape to start sprouting in the spring.

The garden in February is a place of hope and promise of things to come, though it can still be bitterly cold. This is a month of tidying up in earnest and pruning the last of your deciduous shrubs or trees before their new leaves start to emerge.

Summer-flowering shrubs that flower on the current season's growth, like Buddleja davidii and perovskia, should be cut back now. Also cut beech and hornbeam hedging, but avoid clipping tender shrubs like melianthus, choisya or tender lavenders until April. Rose pruning can be done now, including climbing roses, which may need tying in if winter storms have blown them loose.

Cut back your winter display plants once they have gone over. So large, leggy mahonia can be pruned to encourage a bushier form; winter-flowering spindle (Euonymous europaeus) can be tidied up, as can chimonanthus. Dogwoods and willows can be cut back to a stool or stump now, too. It's also a great time to prune deciduous trees like lime (Tilia), elder (Sambucus) and Persian ironwood (Parrotia persica).

Other plants to prune now

Late winter is the time to sort out shrubs such as mahonia and shrubby cornus in time for new spring growth. Reshaping and removing weak stems will help to create strong plants.

MAHONIA To prevent this shrub getting leggy, select a few of the oldest shoots to cut to about 15cm from the ground.

SHRUBBY CORNUS Cut shrubby types like Cornus alba 'Sibirica' low at the end of winter to promote bright new stems next year.