Bigger & better foliage
Many deciduous shrubs are grown for their fantastic new foliage, which can be as eye-catching as any flowering display. By pruning these shrubs hard each year while dormant, you can encourage them to produce even bigger leaves of brighter colours.
What to prune
The magnificent leaves of the smoke bush (Cotinus) will become bigger and bolder when invigorated by hard pruning, as will the black elders, Black Beauty and Black Lace, that produce masses of finely cut, purple-black foliage. Now is also the best time to prune variegated dogwoods, and even the Eucalyptus gunnii (cider gum), which will produce attractive young foliage.
How to prune
Prune all stems back to just a few buds at the base of the new growth usually about 5cm from the ground. Where a shrub also produces attractive flowers before midsummer, the blooms will be produced on the previous year’s growth, so annual hard pruning at this time of year will prevent the shrub from flowering. Try pruning one-third of the stems each year, leaving two thirds to flower.
"Pruning these shrubs hard each year while dormant, you can encourage them to produce even bigger leaves of brighter colours."
Useful cutting tools
Brightly coloured stems
Dogwoods, such as the Cornus Sanguinea 'Midwinter Fire', the stunning coral-red Cornus alba 'Sibirica', and the acid-yellow Cornus Sericea 'Flaviramea' all respond to being cut-back hard by producing taller, more vigorous shoots with more impressive winter colour. The same is true for willows grown for their beautiful winter stems, as well as the white-stemmed bramble, Rubus Cockburnianus.
How to prune
Cut back all stems to within 5cm of their base, and the white-stemmed bramble right back to ground level. With neglected shrubs that have been allowed to produce one or two large trunks, try trimming each trunk just above the first cluster of branches, and then cut all the branches back to about 5cm. If the shrub also produces attractive flowers before midsummer, use the one-third pruning method.
Add a generous mulch of well-rotted compost with a handful of balanced general-purpose fertiliser to help boost the overall display of all shrubs.
