8 plants you should prune in August for beautiful blooms next year

While August is a busy month in the garden, no task is more important than pruning – and it’s the perfect time to give several deciduous, climbing and summer-flowering shrubs a seasonal trim.

'For certain plants, the key time to prune isn’t winter, it’s summer,' says Helena Jones, gardening expert and head of commercial at Hedges Direct. 'Pruning now can encourage next year’s blooms, keep their shape neat, or even do both.'

Here are some plants to prune this month:

The cascading white and lilac blooms of wisteria make it an excellent choice for trailing along a home’s exterior. However, as a vigorous climber, it needs regular pruning to keep its growth and size in check. For best results, prune twice a year – in August, to tidy up and allow sunlight to reach next year’s flowering wood, and again in winter to encourage plenty of short flowering spurs. 'Just cut back all the strong new growth to five buds and remove any spent flower stalks from this year,' says Helena.

Honeysuckle is a favourite with butterflies, thanks to its sweet fragrance and nectar-rich blooms. To keep it looking its best, Helena recommends shortening the long, trailing stems to three or four leaves. She also advises removing older stems right down to the ground to encourage new growth and prevent the plant from developing a 'bare bottom'.

A fragrant climber, jasmine is loved for its deep green, waxy leaves and clusters of wonderfully scented white flowers. It can be trained to cover walls, fences, or arches, adding elegance and perfume to the garden. To prune, Helena advises: 'Cut back the spent flowered stems of summer-flowering jasmine to a strong sideshoot lower down.'

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An evergreen shrub, pyracantha (commonly known as firethorn) produces clusters of small white flowers in spring, followed by a spectacular display of red, orange, or yellow berries in autumn. When it comes to pruning, Helena says, 'Once the main framework of your trained pyracantha is in place, trim back this year's sideshoots in August, stopping just before a cluster of berries (typically two or three leaves up from the base).'

A garden favourite, the beauty and elegance of rambling roses is hard to match. Prune it this month by removing a third of the oldest stems down to the ground and then any weak, misplaced, dead, diseased, or damaged growth. 'Tie in new, vigorous shoots ready for flowering next year,' adds Helena.

Hebe, a hardy evergreen shrub prized for its year-round foliage and colourful summer flowers, and lavender, a fragrant evergreen celebrated for its aromatic purple blooms, are often planted together in gardens. In August, prune by trimming away faded flowers and removing around 2-3cm of foliage. 'Be careful not to cut too far into the plant,' warns Helena, 'as lavender and hebe won't grow back from old wood.'

'Unless you have a flowering hedge (in which case, it's best to trim after blooming), August is the ideal time for cutting,' explains Helena. 'The birds have finished nesting, and it’s early enough to avoid frost damage on freshly cut stems, but late enough that there won’t be much regrowth before winter.'

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