How to prune – Winter pruning

If it’s a bit chilly out there pruning is a good winter warm up. Prune apple and pear trees and roses in pots. Cut dead wood right back to the healthy wood beneath. 


Damaged wood can lead to disease so cut branches and stems that have snapped back to a node or main stem. The same goes for diseased limbs. Where branches are crossing they can rub each other as the wind blows and that can lead to disease. Take each branch that is growing inwards the most and cut back to the main stem or trunk to give freedom to the other branches. 


Where growth is thick and tangled in the centre of a shrub or tree the air can’t circulate, so clear it out and open up the centre. Cut out weak branches, back to a leaf or bud or close to the trunk for larger branches, to get the energy into healthy limbs. 


Don’t prune apricots, cherries, figs, nectarines or peaches. Prune late vines.