No idea

[luckmewish]

I never know how much to cut off.

For example the ends on my salix are dead. Do I cut these off? Do I leave it or cut it all back?

I spend so much money on my garden but feel I'm wasting money as I don't know how to care for them as such. I have a plant identifier app but I'd prefer a diagram 🤪

I don't know what I'm after and I know there is not one answer any tips? I have had hundreds of different varieties over the years.

Thanks.

Do you have any gardening books? Maybe take a look, there will be some that have diagrams of how to prune different plants and lists of what to prune when.

I really ought to look at mine more (I've got a few, mostly RHS publications, because my first attempts at gardening were before the existence of the worldwide web!)

One general principle though is that there's no point leaving branches on shrubs and trees if they're the three Ds - dead, decayed or dying.

It's too early to prune anything just yet. Leave a few weeks and as soon as you see buds starting to swell you will be able to see which parts are alive and which aren't. In the meantime, last year's growth does offer some protection against frosts.

General rule of thumb to keep you going - prune after flowering (unless you want the berries), except for late flowering things better to prune in late winter. This is for light, keeping in shape, pruning. Major, cutting branches out at base, pruning should always be done in the dormant period (except for Prunus).

Remember we prune mainly for us, not the plant. You don’t have to prune everything every year.

Salix - which one? What are you growing it for? Pussies, specimen tree, winter colour?

RHS pruning guides are excellent, eg https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/beginners-guide/pruning-plants