English Woodlands Announce Winter Pruning Advice

Online, January 15, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Winter is a surprisingly busy season for gardeners and enthusiasts. Visible growth is limited, though it represents the best time of year to take a look at the garden as a whole and think on any restructuring and maintenance projects to carry out for the year ahead. With this in mind English Woodlands have released their advice on winter pruning.

Targeted pruning is necessary for some trees more than others over winter. Any that prove susceptible to disease must have their infected leaves and branches removed, preventing further spread. Plants enjoying vigorous growth may need to be cut back to a controllable form via strimmers and shears, often applied to hedging and topiary.

For some trees pruning is inadvisable. Some young specimens require new growth to be stimulated, and pruning for any reason other than to counteract disease or structural issues could limit chances of successful growth.

For both mature and younger trees a winter prune can often be the best path to take. A representative from the company elaborated on this sentiment, "Winter poses many advantages to begin pruning. Deciduous trees have lost their leaves, making it considerably easier to see structural problems and infection. The ground supports equipment like ladders when it's dry or frozen, which makes getting up to the canopy to prune everywhere a much more attainable task. Moving on from that, it's a good way to stay active and work off the Christmas weight. It's easy to find reasons to get outside in the warmer seasons, and winter garden work is a good reason to keep moving."

The company recommended pruning of apple and pear trees in particular, being larger, deciduous trees benefiting from ladder access and visible branches. Gardeners should undertake their own research before starting a prune, all the same. Cherries are susceptible to bacterial cankers, and open wounds on branches could leave them infected by the autumn and early winter spores.

English Woodlands are a supplier of trees, plants and shrubs, located in East-Sussex. They have been spreading plants and planting advice to gardeners across the UK since 1919, and plan to see their services only expand in the future.