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As the seasons change, it’s time to prepare and prune your garden for autumn. In this post, we’ll share some of our top maintenance tips to help keep your garden healthy and thriving until next spring. 

Why prune in autumn?

Autumn is an ideal time to prune your gardens plants before they become dormant for the winter. Removing dead, damaged or even diseased branches helps to promote healthy growth as well as shape shrubs and trees.

Pruning tips

Trees & Shrubs

As mentioned, tidying up trees and shrubs helps to promote healthy regrowth. Focus on removing weak, crossing or dead branches.

Perennials

It’s advised to cut back perennials once their foliage dies back. This not only improves their appearance, but also helps to encourage healthy growth in the new season, without obstruction from old leaves.

Evergreens

Typically, evergreens do not require heavy pruning as they continue to grow all year round. However, in preparation for winter, it is a good idea to remove any dead or damaged branches. This can minimise any stress or potential issues during the colder months.

Roses

When preparing roses for winter, it’s advised to trim back the bushes slightly, however still leaving enough height to protect from winter damage, such as winds or frost. Cutting back the dead or weakened growth, again helps to encourage strong regrowth next spring, as well as reduces the risk of winter breakage.

Garden care checklist

Throughout the autumn months, there are a few general care tasks that will help to keep your garden healthy and well prepared for winter.

Clean debris

When it comes to garden care, some of the simplest tasks can have the greatest impact. For example raking fallen leaves, removing plants and general tidying can completely transform a space. This helps not only with aesthetics, but also prevents excessive buildup.

Mulching

As temperatures drop and conditions become harsher, applying a layer of mulch around your plants can help them to thrive. Mulch material (such as wood chips, compost or leaves) makes an effective natural insulator, helping to regulate the temperature of your soil. Organic mulch can also help to improve soil moisture and provide a nutrient boost as it breaks down over time.

Soil prep

Preparing your soil for winter, by aerating or adding compost, helps to improve your soil health. This is important not only for hardy winter months, but for spring planting.

Aerating soil by breaking up dense and compact areas allows water, air and nutrients to be dispersed more evenly. Combining aerating with adding fresh compost, helps to enrich the soil quality further by adding structure and organic nutrients. 

Protective measures

As we can expect frosts are on their way, it’s important to cover any sensitive plants with frost blankets or move them indoors or to sheltered areas. You can also add windbreaks or supports to fragile trees and shrubs.

With lower temperatures, it’s also advised to wrap and cover your outdoor taps to help prevent freezing and any damage.

By following these autumn pruning and garden care tips, your garden will be well-prepared to handle the challenges of winter, ensuring a beautiful, healthy garden for the next year to come.

Posted in Landscaping, Landscaping Techniques, News