Shrub pruning in Horsham

Roses, flowering shrubs and tired old bushes in Horsham gardens, pruned at the right moment.

Good shrub pruning in Horsham is mostly about timing. The older gardens in town are full of established shrubs, some planted decades ago and now leaning over the lawn. Cut a spring-flowering shrub in March and you lose this year’s flowers. Leave a buddleia alone for two summers and it heads for the gutter. Every plant has its moment, and knowing it is the job.

We take on hedge and shrub pruning, roses included. We thin and reshape overgrown bushes, cut back perennials and grasses, and take every pruning away. We’re gardeners, not tree surgeons, so trees themselves aren’t something we take on, and we’ll say so if that’s what your garden really needs.

Shrub pruning in Horsham, season by season

Roughly, a pruning schedule runs like this. Roses and late-flowering shrubs in late winter. Spring-flowering shrubs such as forsythia straight after they finish. Evergreens in late spring, once the frosts are over. Perennials and ornamental grasses in late winter, so the seed heads feed the birds through the cold months. If you’d rather not keep track, we fold it all into regular visits, so each shrub gets attention when it’s ready rather than one big hack in October.

Overgrown shrubs, protected trees and ash dieback

Plenty of Horsham’s older gardens have shrubs that have become small trees in all but name. We can usually bring those back over a season or two, taking out about a third of the old stems each year so the plant doesn’t sulk. Actual trees are a different matter. Some gardens in the conservation areas have trees under preservation orders, and Horsham District Council has warned that ash dieback is affecting thousands of ash trees across its land. If you’ve a dying ash, you need a tree surgeon, not us.

Pruning in Horsham: your questions

Anything else, just ring. You’ll speak to the people who do the work.

Can you prune my roses?

Yes. We do the main rose prune in late winter and deadhead through summer on regular visits. Climbers and ramblers need different treatment to bush roses, so we prune each one to suit.

Is it too late to prune if I’ve missed the right time?

Not always. Many shrubs will take a light tidy at almost any time, and some hard cuts are better left for the right season. We’ll tell you whether to cut now or wait, and why.

How much does shrub pruning cost?

It depends on how many shrubs there are, how overgrown they’ve got and whether it’s one visit or ongoing. Clearing the prunings is part of the job. Once we’ve had a look, you’ll get a fixed price.