Hello all.. following my 'New to composting' post (thank you all..) I'm
wondering if anyone can give me some guidance on pruning our various
shrubs/trees?

Buddlea, Lilac, Dogwood, Apple, Damson... all looking a bit wintry but
straggly... I've lopped a lot off the Buddlea and am worried that it
may not come good in spring?

Cheers.. R

"Tulpa" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello all.. following my 'New to composting' post (thank you all..) I'm
wondering if anyone can give me some guidance on pruning our various
shrubs/trees?

Buddlea, Lilac, Dogwood, Apple, Damson... all looking a bit wintry but
straggly... I've lopped a lot off the Buddlea and am worried that it
may not come good in spring?
Cheers.. R

Don't worry about the Buddleia - you can hack them back right to the ground
and they will come back better than ever. It's best to wait till spring to
prune them to the shape you want, but a general tidy up now is fine.

Not sure about the fruit trees..............someone else will be along I'm
sure who knows more about them than me,

Jenny

"JennyC" wrote in message
...

"Tulpa" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello all.. following my 'New to composting' post (thank you all..) I'm
wondering if anyone can give me some guidance on pruning our various
shrubs/trees?

Buddlea, Lilac, Dogwood, Apple, Damson... all looking a bit wintry but
straggly... I've lopped a lot off the Buddlea and am worried that it
may not come good in spring?
Cheers.. R

Don't worry about the Buddleia - you can hack them back right to the
ground and they will come back better than ever. It's best to wait till
spring to prune them to the shape you want, but a general tidy up now is
fine.

Not sure about the fruit trees..............someone else will be along I'm
sure who knows more about them than me,

Found this..............
http://gardenseeker.com/pruning/prun...a_buddleia.htm
Jenny

Tulpa wrote:
Hello all.. following my 'New to composting' post (thank you all..) I'm
wondering if anyone can give me some guidance on pruning our various
shrubs/trees?

Buddlea, Lilac, Dogwood, Apple, Damson... all looking a bit wintry but
straggly... I've lopped a lot off the Buddlea and am worried that it
may not come good in spring?

Cheers.. R

Hello Richard,

I am by no means an expert but I know that apple trees should be pruned
in Autumn, you can do it now. Your damson should be left until Spring,
when the sap is rising, to prevent infection of disease.

Lilac, I have pruned in Autumn and it comes good every year. Buddlea
are really thugs and I have found that the more I batter them, the more
they like it. There are some really good RHS books on pruning in
paperback, take a look online. Good luck with the garden and welcome
to urg.

In message .com,
Tulpa writes
Hello all.. following my 'New to composting' post (thank you all..) I'm
wondering if anyone can give me some guidance on pruning our various
shrubs/trees?

Buddlea, Lilac, Dogwood, Apple, Damson... all looking a bit wintry but
straggly... I've lopped a lot off the Buddlea and am worried that it
may not come good in spring?

It will. In spades, as it were.
--
June Hughes

Richard
With regards to your damsons may I suggest the Westmorland Damson
Association's web site. They have some good info. This is the link to
their information and advice page and click the links
http://www.lythdamsons.org.uk/infoandadvice.asp
With regards to your apple tree - I guess it depends what state it is
in. I guess it is a bush tree rather than a trained form like a cordon
or espalier. It is practical to rejuvinate an old tree, age isn't the
issue, it's its condition (there must be a better way of saying that,
but I can't
think of it at the mo) - if there is evidence of new growth occurring,
then you stand a good chance of success. As the tree has not been
looked after for a while then pests and diseases can be an issue,
particully once you start stiring things up by pruning. Here are a few
steps to take.

First, this kind of pruning is done when the tree is dormant and there
is no hard cold spell that could damage the exposed tissues. Secondly
if there is a lot do do, then the work should be spread over at least
two, preferably more, winters. As the tree is of an age, be careful as
to what is safe to stand on if you are climbing it. .
1. As with any pruning remove any dead, dieing or damaged branches.
Think larger banches rather than the fine growth, those that need a saw
rather than seceteurs. For the most part you will be cutting back to
healthy growth.
2. Remove branches that are growing the wrong way - they want to be
going outwards not back into the crown of the tree.
3. Next are the crossing branches, here you need to stand back and
look at the tree from several positions to descide which branch to
remove.
4. Deal with branches that are too high, too low and too spreading.
Having done all this you will start to have a framework to work with.
5. Then it is a question of overcrowding. This is the enemy -
congestion limits light and air flow.
6. To help prevent fungal infections spreading, paint over large
wounds with a fungicidal paint such as Medo, available from good garden

centres.

The best advice I can give is to take your time, follow the steps in
order. Yes you are likely to go around the tree a few / several times,

but by following the steps you avoid being too drastic and being left
with a stump.

Winter pruning encourages growth, so don't be suprised to see lots of
new growth next season. Come summer, the new growth can be thinned to
select new branches.

It will probably take three to five years to get the tree back into the
full swing of things,

If you want further advice, feel free to ask. The Northern Fruit Group
run a course on renovating old fruit trees at Harlow Carr, Harrogate.
The course is very popular and fills quickly, so book early when the
RHS publish their Harrogate prospectus (available on the RHS web site).

If you want any details, let me know and I will get it for you.


Good Luck


Clifford
Bawtry, Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

judith lea wrote:

Tulpa wrote:
Hello all.. following my 'New to composting' post (thank you all..) I'm
wondering if anyone can give me some guidance on pruning our various
shrubs/trees?

Buddlea, Lilac, Dogwood, Apple, Damson... all looking a bit wintry but
straggly... I've lopped a lot off the Buddlea and am worried that it
may not come good in spring?

Cheers.. R

Hello Richard,

I am by no means an expert but I know that apple trees should be pruned
in Autumn, you can do it now.

As a general rule, prune apples now (autumn/winter) to create form.
That is to say that since apples will fruit next year on this years
growth, if you go pruning now, you risk removing the fruiting buds for
next year, but new growth will emerge from your pruning and this new
growth, which can then fruit in 2008/9 may be more to your liking in
terms of the shape of the tree.
In summer, you can nip back long stragly new twigs/branches and what
will happen is that this summer pruning will encourage more spur-like
growth, which tends to be more productive.

Your damson should be left until Spring,
when the sap is rising, to prevent infection of disease.

Lilac, I have pruned in Autumn and it comes good every year. Buddlea
are really thugs and I have found that the more I batter them, the more
they like it. There are some really good RHS books on pruning in
paperback, take a look online. Good luck with the garden and welcome
to urg.

Dogwood. If it's the red/yellow stemmed thing, then leave them be so
you can enjoy the colours for the winter, then prune back at least 1/3
to encourage new shoots as these give the best colour. To determine how
much to cut back, depends on the health of the dogwood. Lovely fresh
plant... good chance of recovery from sever pruning, but half dead...
go easy (-:

Tulpa wrote:
Hello all.. following my 'New to composting' post (thank you all..) I'm
wondering if anyone can give me some guidance on pruning our various
shrubs/trees?
Buddlea,

I've 'tidied' one of mine yesterday because of the gales which we've
been promised. It started early in the morning and I'm glad I did it
because some branches would have snapped. Ideally early march is good
but for protection against high wind it's a good idea to remove some
heavy branches now. To have kept the branches up till now has benefited
birds with the seeds as food.

Lilac,

I've never bothered because I want trees, not bushes. If you want to
prune them, straight after the flower has faded is the best way. Though
wild life will miss out. It is difficult to maintain a 'bush' lilac -
it takes about 2/3 years for a flower to appear if you cut the branches
and therefore I have never bothered as I'm too precious about my May
blooming show time )

Dogwood,

I enjoy mine (alba and sanguinea) until spring and then I cut every
three branches right down (around March). I do this to keep some
structure in winter and for the colours especially and not have nothing
left in one go. A few years ago I cut the sanguinea right down - it
grew slowly and not straight, sending long lanky shoots all over the
place. To this day I'm not sure what happened but as a result, I prune
lightly so that I still have strong branches to enjoy whilst new one
shoots up underneath. I also use both bushes branches as xmas
decorations, in wreath and indoors in arrangements.

Apple, Damson... all looking a bit wintry but
straggly... I've lopped a lot off the Buddlea and am worried that it
may not come good in spring?

It depends how old is your tree. I prune my apple (I don't know what I
have - bright red apples and few of them sadly) in January and in
summer I cut by half the new shoots and the ones that crosses others.
Always prune above an outward facing bud. I've heard one should be able
to throw a hat through the tree to the other side if well pruned )
Don't worry about your buddleia - it will be fine. You'll have an
amazing surprised in the spring.

La Puce wrote:
Tulpa wrote:
Hello all.. following my 'New to composting' post (thank you all..) I'm
wondering if anyone can give me some guidance on pruning our various
shrubs/trees?
Buddlea,

I've 'tidied' one of mine yesterday because of the gales which we've
been promised. It started early in the morning and I'm glad I did it
because some branches would have snapped. Ideally early march is good
but for protection against high wind it's a good idea to remove some
heavy branches now. To have kept the branches up till now has benefited
birds with the seeds as food.

Lilac,

I've never bothered because I want trees, not bushes. If you want to
prune them, straight after the flower has faded is the best way. Though
wild life will miss out. It is difficult to maintain a 'bush' lilac -
it takes about 2/3 years for a flower to appear if you cut the branches
and therefore I have never bothered as I'm too precious about my May
blooming show time )

Dogwood,

I enjoy mine (alba and sanguinea) until spring and then I cut every
three branches right down (around March). I do this to keep some
structure in winter and for the colours especially and not have nothing
left in one go. A few years ago I cut the sanguinea right down - it
grew slowly and not straight, sending long lanky shoots all over the
place. To this day I'm not sure what happened but as a result, I prune
lightly so that I still have strong branches to enjoy whilst new one
shoots up underneath. I also use both bushes branches as xmas
decorations, in wreath and indoors in arrangements.

Apple, Damson... all looking a bit wintry but
straggly... I've lopped a lot off the Buddlea and am worried that it
may not come good in spring?

It depends how old is your tree. I prune my apple (I don't know what I
have - bright red apples and few of them sadly) in January and in
summer I cut by half the new shoots and the ones that crosses others.
Always prune above an outward facing bud. I've heard one should be able
to throw a hat through the tree to the other side if well pruned )
Don't worry about your buddleia - it will be fine. You'll have an
amazing surprised in the spring.

Thank you everyone. This is a truly great site. It's lovely to feel so
welcome as a beginner.. I shall prune with more confidence.... Richard.