When to prune and when to leave alone Or how not to be a hack.

So, you're standing in front of an apparently overgrown shrub and wondering how to go about taming it. Well done for at least being out there so early in the season to deal with it now.

SHOULD I PRUNE IT NOW?
Now, the first thing to ask yourself (ask it out loud - you will take better notice!) is 'should I be pruning this particular shrub now?'
There are a few reasons why you should not prune certain plants at this time of year. The easiest to understand and make a judgement on is whether this particular shrub is contributing to the winter scene - is it doing anything? If it is flowering then why start cutting at it now? I am enjoying SARCOCOCCA, VIBURNUMS, MAHONIAS, DAPHNES and CORONILLA right now so the only pruning practised on those is to cut flowers for the house.

STEM THAT URGE
Another group to leave alone for now is the coloured stem group. CORNUS, SALIX, STEPHANANDRA TANAKAE, KERRIA and some RUBUS. It surprises me how many people start on these so early in the new year just when we can start appreciating the colourful blaze when low sunshine strikes and ignites both them and our spirits.

The red stems of Cornus Alba Aurea

The third reason not to prune is the hardest to grasp but once realized as a principle is like a light being switched on. Any shrub that has buds getting ready to flower in the next few months will not appreciate you depriving it of their reason for being. And neither will you when the result of your eagerness is no flowers! Think back to when you chose to buy this plant because it had 'clusters of deliciously-scented white flowers in spring' (VIBURNUM X JUDDII). It is about to provide you with this treat and you are standing in front of it with a sharp implement! Others, apart from other Viburnums, to spare for now are FORSYTHIA, KERRIA, CORNUS MAS, DAPHNES, CAMELLIA, OSMANTHUS, AMELANCHIER - any in fact that are going to flower in the next few months.

SO WHAT SHALL I PRUNE?
So what can you prune?
Basically, any hardy shrub that flowers later in the year on growth made in that same year. You cut it, it grows again and flowers on those new shoots. Examples are SPIRAEA JAPONICA, HYBRID-TEA ROSES, SPARTIUM, LAVATERA (not a shrub but behaves like one) and of course BUDDLEIA.

Your reason for pruning may be to produce good leaf effect - these respond to hard cutting back by producing lots of strong new shoots that give a good display of foliage. Stooling this is called. Or coppicing and pollarding. These you can have some guiltless and worry-free fun with. Generally, the method here is to cut the whole shrub back to somewhere low down and stand back to see the results. COTINUS, PAULOWNIA, CATALPA, EUCALYPTUS, SAMBUCUS and ACER NEGUNDO FLAMINGO all make fantastic foliage plants treated this way.

It can be baffling this pruning business, but before pruning, just think about:

" Is it contributing to the winter scene now? LEAVE IT TILL LATER
" Is it going to flower soon? WAIT AND PRUNE IT AFTER FLOWERING
" Flowers late in the year on new growth? GO AHEAD AND PRUNE. STEADILY
" Is it grown for the leaves? GO FOR IT!

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