Gardening Question From Roz:

I have bought each of your b ooks. I live in OceanHills Country club. I want to know when is the best time of year to prune Metro………New Zealand Xmas tree.l? I grow all my own vegs: I am English…what more can i say?

Answer From Pat:

New Zealand Christmas tree (Metrosideros excelsa) is best pruned according to the rule “Prune After Bloom”, so wait until it blooms in summer and then prune it.

Not every flowering plant is pruned according to this rule because some plants bloom on new wood and therefore bloom most abundantly when pruned before bloom to stimulate more growth instead of afterwards. A good example is bougainvillea. India hawthorne (Rhaphiolepis) is an excellent example of a plant that is pruned after bloom and never before since it sets buds months earlier. The time to prune Rhaphiolepis is in June right after it finishes blooming. If you prune it in fall and winter, as is often done by hired gardeners who do not read and are ignorant of the differences between plants, you will not get any flowers in spring because you will have cut off all the flowering wood.

It is always a good idea to refer to a good pruning manual before pruning any plant. Sunset published a paperback many years ago called “Sunset Pruning Handbook” and that is a good one. You can still find it for sale on Amazon.com.

Photo by Wylie-Young