Gardening Blog - A Little Pruning Moment!
I feel the need to have a little pruning moment!
I always feel a wonderful sense of achievement and control when I get the snippers out and at this time of year the herbaceous perennials are looking particularly done and in need of a tidy up!
Our perennials, such as Delphiniums, Lupins, Digitalis and Salvia use energy to produce the seed heads so by snipping these off it means the power will now be used to bulk up the roots through the autumn/winter and encourage new growth from the base of the plants (see, I do listen to the boss occasionally!). My garden is looking far from attractive at this time of year, but I remind myself that giving it a good tidy up now will make life a whole lot easier when it comes to planning and planting between now and the Spring.
I’m far from being a knowledgeable gardener but I’m definitely more confident than I was before I started working at P2G, in actual fact, I might even try dividing a few perennials this year – wish me luck!
Roses are another shrub that I have tended to shy away from when it comes to pruning as I always felt a bit daunted by them but after chatting to James, I feel more confident so I’ve given them a little ‘tip prune’ for now just to reduce the height before the wind and rain. In the next couple of weeks, I’ll re-visit them and remove any dead or damaged stems, James said to also remove any crossed branches and when pruning each stem, make sure that I cut it back to an outward facing shoot. For now, I’ve removed the spent flower stems and applied some Sulphur Rose spray to begin my blackspot and mildew prevention plan! (check this out on our website, its fab and can be used on fruit trees etc too). Here’s the link and feel free to drop me an email if you have any questions at all https://plants2gardens.com/products/sulphur-rose-spray-and-refill
Once I have my secateurs in hand, I find it very tough to ‘step away from the Hydrangeas’ and get drawn in earlier every year. We’re encouraged to leave the mophead and paniculata flowers on the plant throughout the winter as protection but to be honest, our winters are never too severe (famous last words) so I always like to give a few of the more mature and visible shrubs a spruce up by snipping off the spent flower stems back to a set of leaves. My youngest usually gives me a hand with this and she is very proud of her work when the hydrangea blooms again bless her (think there’s a little bit of relief that she hasn’t killed it!). I do have one or 2 hydrangeas where the flowers mature through lovely shades of dusky pink so I’ll allow them a little longer!
Getting the Raspberries ship shape and collecting bundles of leaves from the Maple will complete my tasks this week. It actually feels really good to be productive in the garden at this time of year, fresh air and peace (apart from the dog trying to chew the rake and brush when clearing the leaves!)
Enjoy any gardenkeeping (like housekeeping?) you manage to do this week and take care.
Lins.