Chez Bob

The general rule for pruning any plants is to do it just after flowering. After flowering, most shrubs have a growth spurt, which means they'll soon recover their fluffyness and be ready to flower the following year. Perennials will often become dormant, or at best, boring following cutting back. This is a good time to add a little lunch to the soil - homemade/purchased compost, or horse manure etc. Remember to allow nesting birds to fledge their young before getting stuck into pruning large shrubs and hedges.

Sadly this rule doesn't apply to all plants. I'll let you know  what to do where the rules are different.

CHOISYA TERNATA
Flowers spring

VIBURNAM?

Flowers spring - early summer, then red berries

GARRYA ELLIPTICA

If you think it's getting too big, cut off the stuff you don't want after flowering (flowers Feb, March)

LONICERA 

RHUS TYPHINA - 'SUMACH'

Pretty tree, good autumn colour, Puts out suckers. Best grown in a lawn so that the suckers are chopped off by the mower.

KERRIA JAPONICA
Flowers early spring. Cut it back any time you fancy as it can be a complete nightmare.

POTENTILLA

Cut off flowering layer once over. Remove weak and old material by cutting off at ground level.

SENECIO - 'SUNSHINE'

Flowers early to mid summer, yellow daisy like blooms. Prune hard to stop it becoming straggly.

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JAPANESE ANEMONE

Flowers August. Spreads like Topsy - allow lashings of room.

SPIRAEA BILLIARDI
Flowers summer

PULMONARIA  SACCHARATA

Flowers early spring with both pink and blue flowers.

ALLIUM SICULUM - 'ONION FAMILY'

Flowers May. Tends to seed fairly freely.

SEDUM

Flowers September onwards. Flowers can be left on throughout the winter to give you lovely frosty forms. Also a useful late food source for bees etc.

HOSTA

HOSTA

HEBE (Pron. HEE BEE)

FLOWERING CURRENT

Flowers early Spring.

WHISTERIA

You're already an expert on this one.

SPIREA
Flowers summer.

BERBERIS
Very spiny. Don't prune if any chance of frost.

PRUNELLA VULGARIS - Self Heal
Wild plant, good ground cover. Rip away from places it shouldn't be.

CEDRUS DEODARA - Aurea?

BERBERIS
Very spiny. Don't prune if any chance of frost, it can't take the cold on fresh wounds - but then, who can?

EUPHORBIA - 'SPURGE'?

Beware of the 'milk' given off from broken stems and leaves; don't let it touch skin. If it does, wash it off immediately. 

ABIES KOREANA - Korean Fir

ACHILLIA PTARMICA - 'THE PEARL', 

Flowers summer. Wanders through flower beds.

Small purple flower, GERANIUM.

EUONYMUS ALATUS - Burning Bush
Red leaves in autumn (if not, this is a different plant)

PHYGELIUS CAPENSIS

Flowers July - October.

Prune April, if preferred small shrub, cut to ground level; if a taller (6ft plant) is preferred, cut off dead stems and trim to shape.

THE GIRLS

Ahhhhhh!

COTONEASTER?

LONICERA

Prune any time. If cutting plant very hard back (to make it smaller) try not to cut off all the leafy branches as it's very slow to regenerate. Cut out any branch that has plain green leaves, this is really important.

PHLOMIS
Flowers: yellow, summer

LYSIMACHIA PUNCTATA - 'GARDEN LOOSESTRIFE'

Flowers summer. Spreads densely and quite fast.

PYROCANTHIA
Flowers plus berries. Berries good food for wildlife. Cut back any time as it can get out of hand very quickly.

CLIMBING HYDRANGIA
Flowers summer autumn. Prune away long stems straight after flowering. If plant's too big, prune a third of it hard back after flowering, and repeat over the next couple of seasons. Cutting the whole plant back, all in one go will stop it flowering for a season or two.

CLEMATIS TANGUTICA

Flowers summer - group 3 clematis - prune EARLY SPRING. Cut to 6 - 12 ins of the ground - make sure a couple of leaf buds are left on each stem!

LONICERA SEMPERVIRENS -' CORAL HONEYSUCKLE'

Flowers summer.

PHLOX

Flowers summer. 

PERPETUAL SWEET PEA

ASTRANTIA MAJOR - 'MASTERWORT'

flowers summer - autumn. Spreads quite slowly.

JASMINE

JASMINE

HIBISCIS?
Flowers September

HELLIBORUS - 'HELLIBORE'/ 'CHRISTMAS ROSE'

Flowers winter to early spring, happy flowering in the snow.

MAHONIA

Flowers early spring. Fragrant yellow racemes.

ACER PALMATUM - JAPANESE MAPLE - 'Butterfly'

LAMIUM MACULATUM - 'Album'

Flowers spring summer

Spreads well as ground cover, rip it out where you don't want it.

EUONYMUS

Cut back to desired size and shape at any time apart from frosty/ freezing seasons.

CORNUS 

Flowers spring or summer depending on type.  

ELAEAGNUS PUNGENS - 'maculata'?

SPIRAEA ARGUTA - 'BRIDAL WREATH

Flowers May. Never prune in the autumn, you'll get no flowers.

BRIDAL WREATH