As the temperature begins to drop and the days become shorter, many plants are starting to go dormant ready for Winter. This is the perfect time to prune back certain plants ready for Spring. Naturally, this is dependant on what plants are in your garden. While dormant they are less likely to suffer damage from pruning.
The first key factors to consider when carrying out pruning is whether any part of the plant is dead, dying, damaged or diseased. It is important to remove these parts to improve the overall health of the plant, as leaving these parts in tact can lead to further problems in the future, such as pest infestation, further disease or eventual death. It is also very important to remove any dead or damaged limbs on trees to prevent injury to someone near to the tree should the limb fall.
With the correct application of pruning techniques, a variety of desired aesthetic and structural effects can be achieved. For example, you may wish to encourage your roses to produce larger, healthier flowers next year, or perhaps you want to promote growth in a climbing plant. Using the right pruning cuts can actually encourage the plant to grow back more vigorously next year compared to if it was just left to continue with its current growth rate. This time of year is also ideal for removing any older wood that may be causing congestion in shrubs grown for their beautiful winter stems, such as dogwoods (Cornus sp).
While pruning may seem pretty straight forward to some people, attempting to prune without professional knowledge can lead to more problems later, such as the plant becoming diseased or not producing any flowers the next year. The correct application of pruning techniques is crucial in order to achieve the desired effects.