Pruning is a crucial gardening task that requires attention most of the year. It involves carefully removing specific parts of a plant to foster healthy growth.

Pruning serves multiple purposes, including eliminating dead growth, controlling the plant’s size, and enhancing its shape, among other benefits. 

To tackle pruning, gardeners need tools, such as secateurs, pruning saws, and long-handled pruners, to cater to various plants, shrubs, and trees.

Garden expert and owner of Lawn Edging, Tom Su, noted how December pruning prepares the plants for “better health and increased vigour” in the spring months.

That’s part maintenance and prep work making sure your garden bursts forth with life in the warmer days. The expert has also shared which plants will benefit from pruning this month.

Plants to prune in December

1. Roses 

For roses, early winter pruning is essential to “prevent long cane damage” caused by wind and “encourage a better spring flowering display”. 

Start by trimming weak, spindly old wood to give it room to flourish and remove rotten or diseased old wood, then shape the bush by cutting back almost a third of the remaining long stalks.

However, in colder regions, it might be wise to “defer pruning until early spring” so that the new shoots can “avoid damage by frost”.

2. Summer-flowering shrubs

Summer-flowering shrubs such as butterfly bush and some hydrangeas require hard pruning in mid-winter for a “better vegetative and floral display”.

The pruning these plants need depends on the species, though there is much you can do with these shrubs. For some, simply reducing them by a third in size is sufficient.

Gardeners need to understand the specific needs of each shrub. For example, when dealing with hydrangeas, some species need to be pruned in one way while others require a different approach.

3. Fruit trees

Fruit trees enter a dormant state during winter, making it easier to inspect the tree’s structure and pinpoint branches for removal. Pruning trees in December stimulates “new growth” come spring.

To do so, remove all dead and diseased branches, followed by cutting away any overlapping or crowded branches. This process allows light and air to penetrate the canopy, ultimately “enhancing fruit yield”.

A valuable tip for pruning fruit trees is to handle young trees gently, as subtle shaping can produce remarkable results.