Winter is usually a time when people spend less time gardening, but January is the best time to check up on any plants that may need pruning now.
Certain plants and flowers need to be pruned in the colder months when they are dormant, meaning they are not actively growing.
This is done to keep them healthy and make sure they flower in the warmer weather.
However, some plants should also be pruned in January in order to check up on them to ensure they have not been damaged, overgrown, or gotten any diseases at a time when most gardeners are not paying attention to their plants.
Not all plants can be pruned in winter, but cutting back certain areas of the garden can be done in January to help you prepare for springtime.
READ MORE: Follow the ‘three D’s’ plant pruning rule to encourage the garden to flower
Plants which can be pruned in January
Roses
Shrub roses should be pruned in late winter when their new growth is just about to start. In certain southern areas in the UK, this can be as early as January but up north new flowers may not start growing until April.
Roses are pruned to help tidy them up and keep them healthy as roses are very vulnerable to disease in the wintertime, in particular black spot disease. However, it is also done to encourage new growth and ensure they bloom specularly in the summer.
Only shrub roses should be pruned now in winter, as other varieties such as climbing and rambling roses should only be pruned in late summer.
Identify dead, diseased, or damaged stems first and remove them. Then, prune away any crossing stems on the rose bush and prune to encourage more air circulation around the plant.
Wisterias
Wisterias should be pruned twice a year due to its strong growth to keep it under control. They are best pruned once in winter in late January or early February and then again in the summer in late July or early August.
Pruning is done to help wisterias keep their structure and keep the plant thriving. These climbing flowers are old wood, which means they have likely already grown their flower buds and the plant needs to get rid of its old growth to ensure the flowers bloom at their best.
Tidy up wisterias by cutting back leaves and vines to prevent them from growing in the way of new flowers and ensure the new buds are not hidden by foliage.
You will need to cut back the wisteria back to three buds, which can be identified as red or dark purple lumps. Identify the buds on each shoot and cut just above the third bud.
Japanese maples
Japanese maples should be pruned when they are fully dormant in the winter between November and January.
Pruning in Japanese maples is done to simply tidy up the tree and they should never be pruned too severely. Japanese maples are naturally a graceful shape and pruning too much can destroy their look as well as weaken them.
The best way to prune Japanese maples is a minimalist approach, which means only removing dead, damaged, diseased, or crossing branches.
Never remove more than 20 percent growth from the crown of a Japanese maple are it will put the plant under severe stress. Likewise, do not remove more than one-quarter of the foliage from its tree branches as this will also put the plant under dress.
Apple and pear trees
Apple and pear trees should be pruned in late winter or very early spring before any new growth begins to grow on them.
Pruning these fruit trees is done to encourage more growth so that more fruits appear on their branches and you get a better crop.
To prune apple and pear trees, try to create an open goblet shape when cutting to encourage more airflow and sunlight. Only ever remove about a third of the foliage from its branches as otherwise, this will put stress on the tree.
The aim of pruning apple and pear trees is to keep them tidy and encourage flowering, so prune any dead, damaged and diseased branches to ensure healthier fruit trees.
