It's always been my ritual, in the first week of March, to start the long-awaited pruning of overwintered herb shrubs and trees.
It's always been my ritual, in the first week of March, to start the long-awaited pruning of overwintered herb shrubs and trees. However, a word of warning for those who live in the north - the long range forecast is for another cold snap, possibly with snow. My advice would be to hold off until mid-March.
I've just finished pruning the myrtles. Myrtle is a wonderful herb, not only for the beauty of the flowers, but also for the amazing aromas and flavours it creates in the kitchen. You can't go wrong cutting back this herb - it shoots off old wood, and is tolerant of hard pruning.
I then moved on to the bay trees. I have two standard bay trees, both more than 20 years old. They each take a day and a half to have a full haircut. I know it removes the flowers, but they need to be at their best for the Chelsea Flower Show. For that reason I don't want them to use their energy producing flowers at the expense of lush green leaves.
And finally I tackled Eric, the name we give the South African wild rosemary, Eriocephalus africanus. It's a wonderful plant, which starts flowering in November right up until March. These flowers are followed by amazing fluffy seed-pods which look great in the garden but untidy on a show plant. So we prune the flowers and seed-pods and cut the plant back to regain its shape and enhance its texture in time for May. Eriocephalus is not only used in South Africa as we would use Rosmarinus officinalis, but is also a beneficial medicinal herb with anti-spasmodic properties. It is used to combat stomach ache and is currently being researched as a treatment for heart disease.
