Question: What is it about December? Simply by looking around during the winter, even a backyard-turned-gardener can rightly claim the garden to have gone extremely silent and sleepy this time of the year.
Amazing how humans are never tired of thinking about change: December is always the month when one can expect a change in the landscape! December almost rings the shouts of a gardener being reborn, re-energized, and re-revised! Yet few shall make it into being one, at least in such a concise fashion.
Reasons for Pruning in December
During winters, quite a few plants are usually good for pruning. Autumn pruning helps to reduce moisture loss and shape better placed plants. However, it is indeed true that plant systems show active root growth when warmth tries to extend days, especially in December. Winters are found to be good for cutting back dormant deciduous shrubs, mostly those flowering in the second half of spring or in summer. Natives and other wild shrubs are always good candidates for further pruning in spring, eventually hedge trimmed them into crowns until fall.
In essence, numerous garden shrubs find a satisfactory root even when cut back in December. ; Roses, hydrangeas, fuchsias and buddleia thrive all the way to regrowth again in winter. The rounding off of the evergreen pill contributes to the over-destination of the laurel tree later in December without shocking the plant. Leave those that are not threatened by the December trimming: early spring-flowering kinds, as their buds would have morphed by December.
Climbers and Hedges
On the basis that they may become difficult to manage or spread into drainpipes and fences, the oval training of climbing plants such as ivy, wisteria, and honeysuckle should not be overdone. Hedges being trimmed can still retain a good shape in winter, especially the privet and box ones. When warm temperatures again set foot, then these plants are good to provide an outline as to where they are moving.
Conclusion
You can make your garden much healthier and more manageable for the arrival of spring by cutting back in December. If you make the right selection of plant material to cut back in wintertime, you can secure an excellent beginning for your outdoor garden in the new season.