It’s really important to prune certain plants at the right time of year, and July is one of those key months.
Pruning early-flowering shrubs helps to keep them healthy and growing well. It prevents disease, encourages good growth and more flowering – depending on what your plant is – and helps to keep the plant in the right shape.
Our experts give us the lowdown on the top five varieties to prune this month and why.
1. Weigela
Weigela is a favourite amongst those who want to attract as many pollinators as possible – bees and butterflies love it!
Lucie Bradley, gardening and greenhouse expert at Easy Garden Irrigation, explains, ‘Weigela is an easy-to-grow deciduous shrub whose prolific tubular, bell-shaped flowers appear from late spring to early summer and are rich in nectar.’
‘In order to produce a dense, colourful display of flowers in the following year, it’s important that you prune Weigela as soon as it finishes flowering. Pruning later in the year means you risk getting fewer blooms or none at all as it sets its flower buds for the following year on the previous season’s growth.’
Cut back the stems as soon as the flowers start to fade. ‘Use a sharp pair of bypass secateurs to cut them back to a healthy node or side stem further down the stem. At the same time, remove any damaged, diseased, or crossing stems to improve airflow through the plant,’ advises Lucie.
If you like the idea of weigela, then have a look at this lovely All Summer Peach variety with its apricot coloured flowers, £25.99 for a two-litre pot, Crocus. For a richer colour scheme, we like Thompson & Morgan’s Tower of Flowers Cherry, currently £12.99 for a 9cm pot.
2. Sweet peas
A variety you might not think of ‘pruning’ is sweet peas. It’s more of a picking and deadheading activity, but one that’s essential at this time of year.
‘The secret to sweet peas is simple: the more you pick, the more they grow! Keep harvesting the flowers for your indoor vases and snip off any spent heads before they go to seed to keep the blooms coming,’ says Noah Mabey, senior gardener at Thornbridge Hall and horticultural advisor to Platinum Spas.
You can still buy sweet peas now, and we recommend plug plants – Suttons has this lovely Barbie Mix, which has outstanding fragrance, £9.99 for a 9cm pot.
These dwarf sweet peas are perfect for troughs and come in lilacs, white and shades of pink, £15.99 for a 6 pack, B&Q.
3. Rambling roses
Rambling roses usually only flower yearly, so to encourage growth and good health, they need pruning during the summer.
‘Rambling roses usually flower in June, and can flower well in their early years without pruning,’ says Richard Barker, horticultural expert and commercial director of LBS Horticulture.
‘However, once established, the rose will need annual pruning. After flowering, cut side shoots back to a few healthy shoots. Remove dead, diseased and damaged growth right down to the base. Avoid pruning the current year’s growth, as this will carry flowers in the following year.’
The key with rambling roses is to deadhead diligently, says Noah, ‘When a rose flower fades, don’t just snip the head off, cut the spent stem back to a healthy set of five leaves. This tricks the plant into pushing out another flush of gorgeous blooms.’
Siluetta Romantic is a great rambling rose variety for small gardens and containers. It has pretty pastel pink petals and is happy in full sun or partial shade, £19.95 for a 5-litre pot, Gardening Express.
For a country cottage style rambling rose, have a look at the yellow Banksiae ‘Lutea’ variety, which is a very vigorous climber and comes in a 3-litre pot, £39.99, Suttons.
4. Apple and pear trees
According to Richard, there are some rules of thumb when it comes to pruning fruit trees.
‘Standard fruit trees, or those that have little to no formal shaping, are best pruned when they are dormant, between November and March. However, fan-trained and espalier trees do have a formal shape and should be pruned again in summer.’
So if the lower third of your tree feels woody and firm, that’s the sign to prune the current year’s shoots. ‘Begin with removing dead, diseased and damaged stems, or any vigorous upright shoots that are growing above the top branches. The shoots that need to be pruned are those that were produced this year, usually lateral shoots from the main branches. These should be cut back to within a few leaves of last year’s growth. Pruning cuts should be made just above a leaf joint, and shorten all side shoots, only leaving unpruned shoots if they are needed to extend the main framework of the tree.’
Noah has a top tip for growing apples and pears: ‘They often over-produce, so if you see large, congested clusters of fruit, thin them down to just two or three healthy fruits per cluster. This ensures the tree channels its energy into growing larger, healthier fruit rather than a crowd of tiny ones.’
If you fancy growing apples, then the ‘Cox’s Orange Pippin’ is a highly popular variety and can cope with the UK’s climate. You can currently buy two 12-litre pots for £69.99 or one for £99.90 from Dobies.
Gardening Express have a pear tree duo of Conference and Williams for £79.99, the tree won’t grow taller than 10ft, so you can always reach the fruit.
5. Climbing honeysuckle
If your honeysuckle flowers early in the summer, it should be pruned after flowering.
Richard explains, ‘Cut back the plant by about a third to maintain a neat shape, but do not remove dying flowerheads as these will become berries. Those that flower later in the summer should be pruned lightly in spring instead. As these flower on the current season’s growth, they should not be cut back too hard, or you risk losing flowers.’
Honeysuckle has a lovely sweet fragrance and is a firm favourite with bees, butterflies and birds. For the more classic variety, check out the Serotina variety that has that wonderful country cottage look, currently £11 for three 9cm pots from Thompson & Morgan.
If you’d like something a little different, then consider Suttons Scentsation with its yellow and ivory blossom, £29.99 for a 3-litre pot.
Pruning essentials
Spear & Jackson 7159BS Razorsharp Advantage Bypass Secateurs
These secateurs have a bypass action that minimises stem bruising on green stems, they have a super sharp upper blade and ergonomic handles for comfort.
Kent & Stowe Bamboo Gardening Gloves Hypoallergenic & Flexible for Pruning and Planting
These super soft gardening gloves are highly flexible for precise handling whilst still protecting your hands. Hypoallergenic as well as antibacterial, they are protective too.
Flexi Tub Garden Rubber Storage Container, 14L, Green
Use this handy tub for your pruning clippings so you can carry them easily to the compost bin. Comes in three sizes and eight other colours.
Giving the right plants a thorough prune at the right time of year will ensure they remain healthy, disease-free, and maintain the right shape.
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