Firstly, make sure you have good quality pruning shears that are well maintained – kept sharp, lubricated, cleaned and disinfected. If the branches are too big, use some heavy duty loppers or a saw.
PRUNING FUCHSIAS
Seasoned gardeners will tell you that the time to prune your fuchsias (and your roses) are the months with a "J" in them, i.e. January, June and July. Those old gardeners are quite correct, but to me this is a flexible guide and should be adapted to the area you live in and also the seasonal changes, taking into account global warming effects on the temperatures, particularly now with our recent warm spell.
So what happens in January? Your fuchsias, if you've cared for them properly, should have flowered from the end of September to December. By January they may be getting a bit leggy with a few flowers at the ends. It is time for a HALF prune to promote a second flush of flowers. How much to cut back? The plant will tell you where to cut back to. Oh yes, plants can communicate!! We just don't listen to them. Prune back the branches by about 30% to a new shoot. These shoots are just waiting to grow and flower. As soon as you remove the ends of the branches, the energy will be redirected to these young shoots. With a boost of feeding these young shoots will provide you with a second flush of flowers until at least Autumn. It is always good to remind ourselves that fuchsias flower on new growth. So promoting new, healthy growth on your plants is the aim.
Lets now get to the main prune (June and July). Why do fuchsias (like many other plants) need a winter pruning? There are a number of reasons, viz :
1. to remove dead and diseased growth,
2. to remove weak branches,
3. to shape the plant,
4. to promote strong growth, and
5. to promote flowering.
Your winter pruning could start as early as May or as late as the end of July to August, depending on how cold the Winter is in your area. Pruning in May will give you a chance of earlier flowering, but also the possibility of Uncle Jack Frost damaging those young shoots! Come on, be daring, prune in May and have a beautiful display in early Spring!
So how to prune? I like to take a good look at a plant and see which branches are the strong ones and those that are weak or dead. Using sharpened and disinfected pruning shears, remove all the dead and weak branches. The next step is to cut back the sturdy, next season's branches by ½ to ⅔'s. Cut just above a node, about 10mm, with a clean slightly angled cut. It is best to prune last season's growth to about 2 nodes above the old growth. Pruning into the old wood may cause that particular branch to die back. Remove any remaining leaves that may be harbouring any bugs or diseases.
Garden plants should now be given a good watering. Next add a 25cm layer of compost around the base, two handfuls of mature chicken manure and then cover with a layer of mulch, eg coarse pine bark, hay etc. Then give a good watering again. This gives the roots constant, slow-release nutrition, keeps them warm in Winter and cool in Summer. It is not necessary to loosen the soil around the plants as the worms will do this for you as they feed off the organic material. In addition, the mulch will give a good control over weed growth.
For those plants in pots, hold the pot on its side and scrape off some of the top of the potting mix. Take care not to damage those fragile surface feeder roots. Now top-dress with a mixture of potting mix, compost and chicken manure (proportion 4:4:2). Water, but take care not to over-water at this stage.
If nature works with you, the new growth will start to show in about 2 – 3 weeks time.
ROOT PRUNING
It is good practice to check the root health of potted plants at pruning time. Place your hand on top of the pot and turn it upside down. Firmly tap the pot on the edge of a table and it should pop off. You can now examine the root system.
If all looks in good shape and some healthy white roots are visible, replace into the same pot.
If there are a great number of matted roots, and particularly if they are circling the pot – it is time to root prune. Remove the old roots at the base, but leave the root ball beneath and around the main stem intact. Re-pot into a new pot with a mixture of compost and potting mix.
Take care after root pruning and re-potting, not to over-water or fertilise the plant. At this stage there are no leaves to make use of the fertiliser and the plant may die as a result.
My experience is that it is best to let the roots be. We have plants that have been in 25 cm pots for over 15 years without root pruning and are still perfectly healthy.
Let your motto be "If in doubt, prune – but not the roots".
PRUNING ROSES
Reading Ludwig Rose's recent newsletter on pruning, I found these wise words to share with you :
"Roses do not need to be pruned! Rose pruning is EASY! You cannot prune a rose incorrectly! The best pruning time is the second half of July. However, the rose will still perform well if it is done in June or end August! Sealing of cut wounds after pruning is not necessary! Spraying with Lime Sulphur after pruning is not necessary!"
Taking heed of these words from a seasoned rose grower, use the above fuchsia pruning guide to prune your roses.
GENERAL
Fresh stocks of compost, chicken manure and bark mulch have arrived for those of you who would like to compost mulch as recommended. Remember what you put into the garden, will give you loads in return.
Acquiring a powerful garden shredder will be of great help to chop up all that pruning material. This will save you numerous trips to the dump and also provide loads of composting material.
News supplied by Tanglewood Nursery in Hilton.