Shrub pruning in Redhill

Shrubs and roses pruned at the right time for Redhill’s light soils and older gardens.

A lot of Redhill was built between the 1930s and the 1950s, and gardens of that age tend to have shrubs of that age too. Forsythia, philadelphus, lilac and old roses, many of them cut back every autumn whether they liked it or not. Shrub pruning in Redhill is often about undoing that habit so they flower properly again.

We prune plant by plant with secateurs and loppers, at the time of year that suits each shrub, and take every pruning away. Hedge and shrub pruning often go together on one visit. We’re gardeners, not tree surgeons, so we stick to shrubs, roses and climbers and leave trees to people qualified to work on them.

Why your shrub didn’t flower this year

Nine times out of ten, it was pruned in the wrong month. Forsythia, weigela and philadelphus form next spring’s flower buds on this year’s growth, so an autumn tidy cuts the show off before it starts. They should be pruned straight after flowering. Buddleja and other late bloomers work the other way round and get cut hard in early spring. On sandy greensand soil, a shrub pruned hard in a dry spell also struggles to push new growth, so we save the bigger cuts for when there’s moisture in the ground.

Shrub pruning services in conservation areas

In Redhill’s conservation areas, St Johns among them, you have to give the council six weeks’ notice before lopping or felling a tree, unless its trunk is under 7.5cm across at 1.5 metres. Shrubs and hedges aren’t caught by that rule. If something in your garden has grown big enough that it’s arguably a tree, we’ll say so and point you to an arborist before anything gets cut. A short pause is better than a letter from the council.

Pruning in Redhill: your questions

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

When should roses be pruned in Redhill?

Late winter, around February, as the buds start to swell. We deadhead through summer to keep the flowers coming. Climbers are usually tied in and pruned in autumn.

Can you bring an overgrown shrub back into shape?

Usually, over two or three years rather than all at once. Taking out about a third of the old stems each year keeps the plant strong while it reshapes. A few shrubs are past saving, and we’ll say so.

Do you offer pruning services near me in Merstham and Earlswood?

Yes. We cover all of RH1 and the villages round it. Pruning slots easily into a regular maintenance visit, and one-off visits are fine too.