As the autumn weather sets in, with shorter days, longer nights, it may feel strange to head out into the garden to engage in an act of gardening.
However, the autumn and winter are important times to keep everything in top condition in preparation for the return of warmer weather in the spring.
This is why activities such as pruning are important, to help preserve the health of plants and make sure they’re in the best shape possible later on.
While pruning is good practice, not everything necessarily needs to go under the shears with one writer suggesting that when it comes to trees, five in particular are requiring of your attention if you find them in your garden.
Writing in Le Figaro, writer Audrey Gosseaume, recommended pruning the birch, maple, poplar, walnut, and stone fruit trees because pruning said deciduous trees now can help preserve their health and ensure springtime recovery.
She explained: “Before the frost sets in, pruning certain deciduous trees not only helps preserve their health but also ensures a healthy spring recovery.
“Discover the trees that absolutely must be pruned in autumn to get through the winter without any problems.
“Autumn, with its flamboyant colours and cooler air, marks the end of the growing cycle. It’s also a key time for gardeners: when nature slows down and trees and shrubs prepare to face the cold. But be careful: not all trees react the same way to pruning.”
Audrey isn’t the only individual to have provided autumnal pruning advice with Britain’s own gardening legend Monty Don suggesting there is one type of plant that needs pruning in both October and November.
Writing in the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine he said he has a “philosophy” on when and when not to prune thanks to his experiences in his own Longmeadow garden.
He wrote: “Our shrub roses get a quick clip with shears in October or November to remove any excess growth, and I don’t touch many of them again – that quick clip is all they get for the year.
“For any that have grown a bit leggy or are getting older, I will go over them with a pair of secateurs in February to remove some old growth. We also prune climbing roses in autumn or late winter, cutting back to a framework from which sideshoots will flower.
“Shrub roses, all hybrid tea roses, climbing roses and floribunda roses all flower on new growth, so can be pruned hard in March, and you’ll still get flowers in the summer.”