Shrub pruning in Salfords

Roses, flowering shrubs and climbers in Salfords, cut back at the right point each year.

On Salfords clay, a shrub that’s been left for three summers usually looks like it’s been left for six. Shrub pruning in Salfords is mostly about bringing size back under control without losing the flowers you planted it for. Weald Clay is heavy, but it’s rich, and once roots are into it, growth comes thick and fast.

We prune each plant at its own time of year, take out dead, crossing and rubbing wood, and open up congested middles so air and light get in. All the prunings are cleared before we leave. Most gardens only need us once or twice a year for it, or it slots into a regular maintenance visit.

Shrub pruning around the calendar, not on one weekend

Forsythia, weigela and flowering currant get cut just after they finish, because next year’s flowers grow on this summer’s shoots. Buddleja, late roses and hardy fuchsia want a firm cut in early spring instead. Shrub roses and hybrid teas get their main prune in February. Do all of it on one autumn Saturday and you’ll lose half your flowers. That’s the most common mistake we see, and it’s easy to fix once the timing’s right. On a regular visit we just work through each plant as it comes due.

Older gardens, older shrubs

Some houses round here go back a long way. There’s a run of 1930s houses by the architect Blunden Shadbolt in the Salfords area, on Cross Oak Lane and New House Lane, and plenty of gardens with mature shrubs that have had decades on rich ground. Renovating something like that is a two or three year job. We take out about a third of the oldest stems each winter so the plant keeps flowering while it shrinks. We stick to hedge and shrub pruning, though, and don’t do tree work. If a tree needs attention, we’ll say so and suggest an arborist.

Pruning in Salfords: your questions

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

Can you cut a huge shrub right back in one go?

Some shrubs cope with it, many don’t. Lavender and some conifers won’t regrow from old wood at all. For most, staged pruning over two or three winters is safer and keeps the flowers coming.

Do your shrub pruning services include climbers?

Yes. Wisteria gets its summer and winter cuts, climbing roses are tied in and tidied in autumn, and ivy is kept off gutters and windows.

What does a pruning visit cost?

It depends how many plants there are and how far they’ve got away from you. We’ll look and give you a fixed price, with the prunings taken away.