WGG Landscapes

Pruning

The purpose of pruning and training is to ensure that plants are as healthy and vigorous as possible, free of structural weakness and at the least risk of being infected by disease. The effects of pruning, however, go beyond this straightforward aim. With additional knowledge of how pruning and training influences the way in which plants grow and perform. Pruning can not only improve their natural appearances, but also enhance ornamental features such as flowers and foliage, increase crops, and create striking plant features and combinations. Understanding the principles of how and why plants respond to pruning is the key to realizing their potential.

Many can be grown and pruned in different ways to produce different effects. While pruning is often a complex subject, for many plants pruning can be kept very simple, since they require little more than the removal of dead, diseased or damaged wood to keep them in good health.
There are special considerations that will influence the type and degree of the pruning that you undertake. Some people prefer immaculate, formal gardens in which each plant is neatly and symmetrically shaped, while others prefer to allow natural, sometimes unexpected growth habits to develop. In some situations pruning to restrict size may be important to increase the range of plants that can be grown in a limited space.