Take a wander
Firstly, you need to take a wander through your yard every now and then, to see what plants need a bit of upkeep, what plants are outgrowing their spaces and what plants you want to increase the growth of.
Keep the season in mind
Pruning your garden has many reasons, so keep those reasons in mind when you want to prune. Pruning your garden in the winter promotes growth whereas pruning in summer will slow the growth. Different plants have different blooming and growing seasons so make sure to research your specific plants before pruning.
Use the right tools
When pruning your garden, consider the Stihl GTA 26 Garden Pruner. Powered by the new 10.8V, 28Wh AS 2 battery from the AS System, the GTA 26 is a versatile tool with excellent cutting performance that has up to 25 minutes runtime!
Cut the right way
Once you’ve decided which plants need pruning, you need to make sure you cut off the right bits. When you cut a plant, you are wounding it, and the main goal is for it to heal itself as quickly as possible. Firstly, you need to find the buds on the plant, these buds will promote new growth and are the most important parts of a plant. When cutting a stem, make sure to cut a small amount above the bud, at an angle sloping down towards the bud. This will ensure your plant will have a fast and healthy regrowth period.
Cutting the right branches
Dead + Diseased:
The easiest place to start is by cutting off any dead or diseased branches and branches that are rubbing together. These branches are wounded and leave open surfaces for pests and diseases to infect.
To see if a branch is dead, gently scrape the bark. If the growth layer underneath is green, it is alive. If it is brown, it is dead. For diseased or dead plants, cut about 15cm into healthy wood to prevent the advance of the disease. For broken branches or branches that are rubbing together, cut back to the nearest bud or to a crotch (where the branch meets another branch or trunk).
Thinning:
Cut down branches that are crossing over each other and creating congested areas. Remove branches that have less flower growth, have grown too tall and branches that are growing in the wrong direction. Pruning them back to ground level will allow more ventilation and light in the centre of the plant, promoting new and healthy growth.
Suckers:
Suckers are fast growing shoots that appear from the base of a tree or shrub. These suckers take energy away from more essential components of the plant, which is why they should be removed. You should remove suckers while they are young and under 6mm in diameter. To remove them, you grab them and sharply pull them sideways, ripping from the growing point. Don’t worry if you are too late though. All you need to do is cut them off as close to their growing point as possible.
Pruning your garden is a must, but make sure you are well educated on your garden, the tools you need to use and how to use them before you start.