When to Prune Garden Plants

In areas where frost is to be expected, the best time to prune is early spring. When the forsythia blooms, it is time to prune. Pruning encourages new growth and bloom. It helps to improve air circulation, which prevents mildew and fungus. This is especially important for a healthy rose-garden.

How to Cut Back Roses

While wild roses just need to be cut back every few years, garden roses should be pruned every year. The best time are frost-free sunny days between the mid of February and the mid of April. First all dried leaves and dead wood has to be removed. Healthy sprouts can be recognized by their color. The mark inside the stem should be white and fresh. If necessary the stems can be cut back down almost as far as down to the root system. Fresh shoots will grow in soon.

Always use sharp scissors or garden clippers to cut back roses and other blooming plants. Frayed stems also might lead to plant diseases. Cuts should be made about two inches above a new shoot, in an angular fashion to enable rain and water to easily flow off and to prevent rotting. While older roses can gain from a strong back cut, by developing new, healthy sprouts, younger roses should be treated gentler since they still have to develop strong stems.

When to Harvest and Prune Lavender

Although harvesting the flowers regularly cuts lavender back, the plant needs a good trim in early spring to encourage new growth. Harvest the flowers no later than August, because otherwise the new shoots don’t have enough time to mature enough to survive the winter. Harvest the flowers while they are fresh. This way they keep their wonderful scent.

When pruning the plant in early spring, never cut to deep, since lavender often does not develop new sprouts out of old, wooden branches. On the other hand it might do the plant good to cut it all the way back every three to four years, to prevent it from developing bald, hard wooded spots. Young lavender should be pruned to about one third of its length, older and stronger plants can be cut back to about half their size.

Lavender mulch might do some good to the roses and peonies, simply sprinkle the mulched branches around the other plants.

Pruned Bushes Produce More Berries

Blackberry and raspberry bushes should just be tip-pruned in the spring. This will force the bush to develop more new branches, which will carry fruit. The old branches should be cut back to a length of about 24 inches. If they are shorter than 24 inches, just the tips should be cut off. Since blackberries only produce fruit on branches that are two years old (meaning that canes which produced berries once, will never produce berries again), the whole bush has to be pruned again in the summer after the fruit has been harvested. Cutting off old branches means that the bush will grow new first year branches, which will produce fruit the following year.

Importance of Good Tools

Remember to always use sharp tools to make clean cuts. Frazzled cuts can lead to mildew and other diseases. Always remove old and dead wood to encourage air circulation and to let sunlight reach the bottom of the plants. Cutting back also encourages new growth, more blooms and berries. All pruning at one plant should be performed at one time. This way the exposure that the plant has to pests and diseases can be limited. Learn more about Homemade Aphid and Fungus remedies and Organic Weed Killers.