Gardeners’ World expert issues ‘leave it’ warning over pruning four plants and shrubs

Gardeners, brace yourselves for a busy winter season. Despite December marking the beginning of winter, there are numerous gardening tasks to undertake.

The leafless state of most plants makes it an ideal time for pruning. However, garden expert Frances Tophill has some good news amidst the hard work.

There are certain plants that don’t require immediate pruning. In fact, she insists that some should be left untouched.

In her article for Gardener’s World Magazine, Frances identifies four plants that could suffer damage if pruned during this period. Dogwood shrubs, known for their colourful bark and popularity in damp, clay soil areas, should not be pruned now as it would result in loss of winter colour from the stems.

Instead, she suggests pruning them in March and applying some mulch for a boost. Lavenders too should be left untouched for now as they may not thrive if pruned in cold, wet weather, reports

“If you didn’t trim them back in late summer, leave them until spring,” she recommends. Pruning Forsythia at this time could rob you of a vibrant yellow flower display in early spring.

It is advisable to wait until the flowering phase is over, towards the end of spring.

Lilacs could potentially lose vital buds if they’re pruned at this time, Frances advises. Pruning them now could result in the loss of their flower buds, so it’s more advisable to wait until immediately after they bloom.

Instead, gardeners should utilise the shorter daylight hours to concentrate on other shrubs and fruit trees, as well as grapevines, autumn raspberries and climbing roses. Grapevines can bleed excessive sap if they’re cut back in warm weather, so it’s preferable to prune them hard at this time.

Now is also the ideal time to prune climbing roses. Gardeners should aim to train the new shoots horizontally as much as possible, to encourage new flower growth.