Larry Smith and the Riverside Gardens team talk all things pots, plants and pruning in their weekly gardening column.

After last weekend, there is no doubting that winter is here, but don’t get too excited and rush out into the garden to start pruning unless you really must.

It is best to leave most of your winter pruning until next month or later.

Deciduous trees and roses are still not fully dormant just yet and would benefit from a few more cold, frosty mornings and a few more weeks to let things slow down even further.

Evergreen shrubs and trees are better left until just before spring so that there is not too much soft new growth flushed over the plants, just waiting to be damaged by our heavy frosts.

So, as you can see, there is an optimal time for pruning the different types of plants — and it is all in the hands of Mother Nature.

There are also a few other exceptions on the timing of pruning, such as Japanese maples, which are best left until just before they break dormancy in late winter or early spring.

Blossom trees such as flowering cherries, crab apples, prunus and magnolias are all best left until they have finished their floral displays.

So, even though it is winter, sit back and relax or find something else to amuse yourself within the garden.

There is always something: plant a few plants in those empty spaces, freshen up pot plants, fix garden edges or paving areas, or just get everything ready for your pruning next month.

Secateurs need to be sharpened and made ready for use.

Crosscut pruning saws, which can make light work of smaller branches, need to be clean and sharp.

For the more drastic or gung-ho pruners, chainsaws need to be sharpened.

A good pair of garden loppers is also a wise investment for pruning thicker small branches.

So is a sturdy stepladder or trestle to make higher pruning safer, or a long-reach pole pruner so that you can keep both feet firmly on the ground.

A good pair of garden gloves can make pruning a much more pleasant task, especially when pruning roses and thorny shrubs.

When pruning, it is worth having a wound sealant to apply to larger cuts left after removing branches over about 50 mm in diameter.

This will seal the wound to restrict diseases and moisture from getting in until the plant has time to callus it over.

All these things can be sorted now, or on a day when it is too wet to get out in the garden, so that next month you can go to your heart’s content without too much hassle.

Also, when pruning, many deciduous trees and roses benefit from a spray of lime sulphur.

This winter spraying is a preventative measure to control pests and diseases on plants while they are in their dormant state.

It’s a common practice on fruit trees and roses, but smaller ornamental deciduous trees and young, larger-growing deciduous trees will also benefit.

This helps to kill overwintering pests such as mites and scale insects, as well as fungal spores that can cause diseases like leaf curl, black spot and powdery mildew.

After the hot, humid summer we have just endured, this could be of particular benefit, as both mites and mildews have had a field day this year.

Lime sulphur is also effective in controlling lichen that grows along branches of older deciduous trees, and is best applied in late winter.

Our bare-rooted roses, fruit trees, canes and ornamental deciduous trees are all continuing to slowly trickle in, with more of each, including standard roses, arriving this week.

The worry now is that our secondary orders will arrive in stock right on top of our initial orders.

You would never have guessed that back last year when we were scheduling stock.

Well, we will have plenty to keep us warm sorting, tagging and heeling them all in as they arrive together.

We will be contacting everyone with forward orders as we get them sorted, so no need to worry, they will be held in separate beds out the back in our grow-on area.

In the meantime, sit back and enjoy the winter.

Here’s hoping we get some follow-up rain to that nice fall we had the other day.

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Thursday, 29th May 2025

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