Advantages of Trellising Tomatoes

• Like staking, trellising holds tomatoes off the ground for cleaner, easier-to-pick harvest.
• Usually doesn’t require as much pruning as staked tomatoes. Most common trellising methods let you grow two or three main stems.

Disadvantages of Trellising Tomatoes

• Trellising can be hard work, especially for a big planting. Poles, wires, and braces usually needed.
• Requires weekly maintenance to keep plants running up the trellis. Often the plants need to be tied to trellis wires.
• Takes time at end of the season to disassemble the trellis and store parts. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a selection of garden tools used for pruning, cutting hedges and grass, plant propagation and other tasks of this nature.

• KnifeA straight-bladed horticultural knife is useful for cutting string and for taking cuttings. Don’t choose one with a stainless-steel blade, as this quickly becomes blunt.

• Long-arm pruner Has a very long shaft (at least 2.4m/8ft) with a cutting blade at the top, operated by a lever at the bottom. Invaluable for high branches.

• Pruners (or loppers) These have two long handles and are essential for “heavy” pruning — that is, stems of 1.25-2.5cm/ 1/2—lin in diameter.

•  Pruning saw Used on large branches where loppers or secateurs are inadequate. Usually has a narrow curved blade. Read the rest of this entry »

Three pruning methods for roses

Pruning roses will not reward you with more flowers nextyear. However, it will control shape and maintain health. Wild (species) roses and hybrid shrub roses need no pruning — just the removal of dead wood.

• Bush types Large-flowered (hybrid tea) and cluster-flowered (floribunda) roses are pruned annually in early spring. Remove all weak growth and reduce remaining strong stems to 15-20cm/6-8in above ground level. Cut to outward-facing buds. Make sure centre of each bush is free from growth: shape bush like a vase.
• ClimbersAllow a framework of permanent stems which are trained to their supports. From these stems side shoots grow, which produce the flowers. To prune, cut back old side shoots to within one or two buds of their base in early spring. Tips of main stems can also be cut back, if becoming too tall. Read the rest of this entry »

Thirteen subjects to prune in late winter or spring

These are popular deciduous shrubs, climbers and roses, all of which flower even better if regularly pruned.

• Butterfly bush(Buddleia davidii) Group 2. Allow a framework of woody branches to required height.

• Californian lilac(Ceanothus) Group 2 (deciduous ceanothus only). Allow a framework of woody branches to form, and cut back to keep it at the required height.

• Clematis Pruning technique for these climbers varies according to type. Read the rest of this entry »

A shroud of confusion which few gardening books and journals succeed in penetrating. As a result, many gardeners prune incorrectly or indiscriminately. It is wrong to think that all shrubs need a “good haircut” every year. The truth is, most shrubs do not need any pruning; all you need to do is look over them occasionally and if necessary cut out any dead or dying shoots or branches. Conifers need pruning only when grown as ornamental hedges; ornamental trees do not need pruning at all; most climbers are happier if left alone, and so are most roses — although some, such as bush roses, need severe pruning every year. Read the rest of this entry »

As well as being invaluable for giving height to an otherwise flat plot, climbers and wall shrubs also offer an excellent way to disguise an ugly enclosure or hide unsightly objects. To grow well, all need some means of support — a wall or fence, or perhaps a rustic arch or pergola erected purely for the plants‘ convenience.

The so-called “self-clinging” types have either aerial roots (the ivy) or sucker pads (Virginia creeper). Other climbers (such as grape vines) have tendrils. Ramblers (such as honeysuckle) push toward the light by twining around a host plant. Some shrubs, although not strictly climbers, adopt an upright habit when grown against a wall — for example, Pyracantha. Read the rest of this entry »

Only so much as whisper to a serious bonsai enthusiast that you are thinking of growing bonsai trees in a window box and you will probably be greeted by howls of protest. But if you are unfamiliar with the art of growing bonsai—and it is an art, and no less surrounded with ritual than the Japanese tea ceremony itself—you could make a very creditable start with a few small subjects on your windowledge. These need not be expensive but they will give you the opportunity to practise some of the bonsai techniques and to see whether the conditions your window ledge offers are right for these rather demanding subjects. If they are, and you have been bitten by the bug, you will feel more confident about treating yourself to more mature, and more expensive, trees. If the enthusiasm wanes, or your lifestyle does not admit of the frequent watering necessary in very hot weather, you will still have had the pleasure of creating a tiny forest of seedlings, or a mini landscape of rocks and trees. Read the rest of this entry »

The majority of permanent ornamental plants like shrubs and climbers do not need any pruning apart from the removal of dead and dying wood. However, there are some that need regular attention, as detailed below.

HEATHS AND HEATHERS, SANTOLINA (COTTON LAVENDER), SENECIOS AND LAVENDERS

These small shrubs need to have their dead flowers removed. This is quite a simple and quick operation. Trim off the dead flowers immediately after blooms have faded with a pair of sharp garden shears, but do not cut into the wood. Read the rest of this entry »