THE gardener's LOG

With only one month until spring is officially here, August is the last chance to give your plants a winter prune and shape your garden for summer

- ASHLEY JAMES

In the chilly ground, bulbs wait patiently for the sun’s return in the month of August. Though flowers sleep and the leaves of deciduous plants have all fallen, there is an untold beauty in winter gardens. With only one month left until spring, it’s time to rug up and tend to the last of our winter pruning.

Many of us grow fruit trees, and the last month of winter is a good time to get them in shape before the growing season. When pruning fruit trees, remember the three Ds – dead, diseased and dying wood – simply put, remove any of these, along with broken limbs. We want to promote good airflow in our fruit trees, so prune them into an open-centred vase shape to welcome sunlight and ventilation, and help reduce disease. Remove any unwanted vertical shoots, weak or downward-facing growth, branches growing towards the centre of your tree, or ones that may be rubbing, crossing each other or growing too closely together.

When pruning and shaping your fruit trees, consider their overall height. While a tall apple tree may be visually appealing, it also needs to be practical. You should be able to comfortably and safely net and harvest the fruit in the summer. If this proves difficult, now is the time to reduce the height of fruit trees for easy harvesting in the coming months.