Hedges and pruning
5 guides in 2 sections
Choosing, planting and cutting back hedges, and the pruning calendar for the shrubs and fruit most gardens grow. Each guide says when to cut, how hard, and what happens if the timing is wrong.
Hedges
Choosing a hedge for privacy and screeningSorting hedging plants by what they are actually for, a fast screen, a clipped edge or a windbreak, rather than by name alone.
Filling a bare spot in a hedge, and cutting an overgrown one backHow to fill a bare gap in a hedge by layering a low shoot, and which hedging plants regrow after a hard cut into old wood.
Planting a new hedgeSpacing, soil preparation, bare-root against container stock, and the first year of watering that decides whether a new hedge actually thickens up.
Pruning
Pruning raspberries and blackberriesSummer-fruiting and autumn-fruiting canes need opposite pruning, and cutting the wrong cane at the wrong time is the single most common bramble mistake.
When to prune roses, hydrangeas, lavender, apple trees and azaleasWhen to prune five common garden plants in each hemisphere, and the one question that decides it: this year's wood or last year's?