Pruning in August can help encourage next year's blooms, according to gardening specialist Helena Jones, head of commercial at Hedges Direct. She said: "For certain plants, the key time to prune isn't winter; it's summer. This can help encourage next year's blooms, keep their shape tidy, or even do both."
Plants to prune now
Wisteria should be pruned twice annually, once in August to tidy it up and again in winter to encourage short, flowering spurs. Helena said: "Just cut back all the strong new growth to five buds and remove any spent flower stalks from this year."
Deciduous honeysuckle's lengthy trailing stems can be shortened now to three or four leaves, and older stems should be taken out down to the ground to promote fresh growth.
More shrubs and climbers
For summer-flowering jasmine, the expert advised: "Cut back the spent flowered stems of summer-flowering jasmine to a strong side shoot lower down."
Once the primary framework of a trained pyracantha is established, trim back this year's sideshoots in August, stopping just before a cluster of berries, usually two or three leaves up from the base. Cotoneaster's flowered branches can be trimmed back to half their length, with the oldest branches cut right back to the ground.
Roses, lavender, and hedges
For rambling roses, Helena said: "Remove a third of the oldest stems down to the ground, and then any weak, misplaced, dead, diseased or damaged growth. Tie in new, vigorous shoots ready for flowering next year."
August is an excellent time to prune lavender, cutting back faded flowers and removing 2cm to 3cm of foliage, but taking care not to cut too deeply as lavender and hebe won't regenerate from old wood.
On hedges, the gardening pro continued: "Unless you have a flowering hedge, August is the ideal time for cutting. The birds have finished nesting, and it's early enough to avoid frost damage on freshly cut stems, but late enough that there won't be much regrowth before winter."
