Think before you prune

Gardeners should engage their mind before chopping away at their plants, it has been suggested.

Juergen Hansen makes his comments in online resource the Penticton Western News, as he explains that people thinking about pruning their forsythia shrubs should look at the bush from a distance and work out how old the different branches are.

If the plant has not been pruned for a while then the older branches that may be more than three years should be cut off.

"Stack them up neatly next to the thinned-out bush. Then cut enough two-foot sections from the top of the branches you just removed and take them inside for forcing," he tells the publication.

In related news, the High Plains Journal recently featured an article which suggested that gardening enthusiasts should time their pruning to minimise the amount of disruption to a shrubs blooming if it is being grown for flowers.