Story: The Importance of Pruning
Episode: 2
Presenter: Bonnie-Marie Hibbs
Air Date: 14 March 2026

Bonnie explains how smart pruning techniques, and the right tools, can improve plant health, structure and flowering throughout the garden.

• Pruning is more than tidying plants; well-timed cuts help encourage better flowering, improve plant structure and support stronger, healthier long-term growth.
• Many garden favourites such as lavenders and salvias respond well to light trimming to remove spent flower spikes and stimulate fresh growth and new buds.
• Hydrangea macrophylla requires a more careful approach, as it flowers on older wood, so selective pruning in late summer to early autumn helps protect next season’s blooms.
• With fruit trees and roses, pruning just above an outward-facing bud encourages growth away from the centre of the plant, improving airflow and maintaining a balanced shape.
• Clean, precise cuts are important to help plants recover quickly and reduce the risk of disease entering damaged stems.
• Battery-powered secateurs like the STIHL ASA 20 provide controlled, progressive cutting and can easily handle branches up to around 25mm thick.
• Careful, precise pruning throughout the year generally produces far better results than heavy cutting later, helping plants grow stronger and perform better in the seasons ahead.

For more information, head to:
www.stihl.com.au