Pruning is an important job throughout the year, with many garden plants needing a trim in January. Pruning helps keep plants disease-free and looking their best. Not all plants need to be pruned, though, so it’s important to know what you’re working with. Pruning at the wrong time or year, or cutting too much, could cause the plant to die.
While many plants are pruned when dormant, there are popular varieties that should never be cut in winter. Colin Potts, gardening expert at Artificial Grass Direct, said: “Winter is when good gardens are made or quietly ruined. The jobs people do now have a huge impact on how their garden looks and grows for the rest of the year.”
Despite pruning being an important job in the winter months, some of the most common garden plants should be left alone during the colder months.
The expert said: “Spring-flowering shrubs, including forsythia, lilac, camellia, rhododendron, azalea, magnolia and flowering currant, should not be pruned in winter, as they form their flower buds the previous year.
“Cutting them back now removes those buds and results in little or no spring display.”
Hydrangeas are another “frequent casualty” which should be left alone in January. Popular mophead and lacecap varieties flower on old wood, meaning winter pruning can “wipe out summer blooms entirely”.
The expert added: “In these cases, gardeners should limit winter work to removing only dead or damaged stems.”
Evergreen shrubs such as laurel, box, and holly should also be avoided during winter, as cold-weather pruning can cause browning.
Pruning them now could also cause frost damage and leave them vulnerable to disease. The gardening pro noted: “These recover far better when pruned in late spring or summer.”
Colin continued: “Certain trees, including maple, birch, walnut and cherry, are also best left unpruned, as they can bleed sap heavily if cut during winter or early spring, weakening the tree and increasing the risk of infection.”
One of the “biggest mistakes” gardeners make is assuming winter pruning applies to everything, according to the expert.
Colin warned that if a plant flowers early in the year, or you aren’t sure what variety it is, the safest option is usually to leave it alone.
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