In need of a haircut!
This particular machine has the ability to elevate its passengers 14 metres into the air in a metal basket and niftily manoeuvre at the touch of a button in order that those hard to reach places can be tweaked! I was glad of the opportunity to have a go at working from the cherrypicker. Have safety harness, will travel..!
The tool for the job!
The reason that we are pruning the wisteria now, in winter, is that with the leaves gone, we’re able to see what we are doing and particularly identify this year’s growth. We can then take back this growth to 2-3 buds, returning the plant to a framework. In the spring these buds will go on to produce the side shoots that will in their turn produce flowers. Dead, diseased and damaged wood is also pruned out, keeping the plant healthy and ensuring that all its energy goes where it is most needed. By doing this, we’re also able to maintain some sort of control over where the substantial flower racemes will hang (or won’t hang – we still need to see out of the windows!)
We were pleased with the results of our labour and it seemed that a tangled mess of wayward wisteria soon became a tidy framework, ready to leap into life in the spring and give us masses of gorgeous, scented blooms.
Before
After
It was a pretty chilly afternoon, but it was all worth it for the wonderful views of the garden and the Woodland Walk that we had when we were right at the top.
It was great to get a chance to see Rosemoor from a slightly different angle today!