WHEN either starting a new garden or renovating an older one, the sizes of plants need to be carefully taken into account.

Buying plants in small containers, ie 150mm pots, while suiting the budget is often a better buy. These will, more than likely, be less prone to being pot or root bound.

As always, beware of plant labels not giving the ultimate size of the plant.

Most trees and shrubs, if allowed to grow naturally, will reach a height equal to their width. For example, the popular Viburnum tinus in a 150mm pot will easily grow to 3m tall x 3m wide. Naturally, it can ultimately be pruned to keep it to the required height and spread.

However, trees are a different matter and simply cannot be lopped off if getting too tall. Although I have seen this practice far too often, particularly with Betula pendula (or silver birch) for some reason. More often than not, such drastic action can kill the tree.

Before planting, it’s vital to know where services are located, ie gas, water and sewer.

If a tree grows to, say, 10m tall it will normally have a 10m spread and this is the minimum distance to plant from the home.

You may recall a previous photo of me in front of a display home with my barely outstretched arms touching two trees planted just 2m apart.

One is a liquidambar, which will easily grow to 12m with a similar spread, and the other a Pistachio, slightly smaller at 8m x 8m! Always check the ultimate size of the tree before planting and if you are unsure about the label, double-check it on the internet.

I SEE plenty of overgrown, neglected Wisteria on my travels. Pruning them at this time is similar to summer pruning; cut all last season’s growth to six leaves. This controls the plant’s growth and promotes flower-bud formation. This starts as the weather warms in August.

At the same time, cut off any dead or diseased branches. It will be easier to see the structure of the plant to decide what additional pruning is required. It might require some ruthlessness to remove overgrown, misplaced or tangled thick branches on older plants by cutting them back to a suitable fork or side shoot.

Unlike some similar plastic products, which crack or break or can’t stand the weight of mowers, the edging can be used to hold mulch in place around trees planted in lawns. It won’t deteriorate, is considerably cheaper than cement or paver edging and the beauty is that it can easily be lifted if parts of the garden need to be redesigned.

Available in 2m or 3m lengths, with easy slide-in joiners, Amber Paving in Yallourn Street, Fyshwick, stocks it.

Jottings…

• Summer and autumn-flowering bulbs are now in garden centres and ready for planting, along with tubers and rhizomes.
• Get on with planting roses; buds will start forming over the next few weeks.
• Clear leaves from lawns and tops of hedges (such as Buxus and Osmanthus) because they can cause die-back and mildew.
• Float Helleborus flowers in a bowl of water to enjoy inside.
• Membership of the Yates Garden Club (yates.com.au/gardenclub/join) is a great source of free garden information.