Complete summer pruning of wisteria this month. Prune all the long new whippy growth back to five or six buds from the main stem. This encourages the plant to produce flower buds. If you have a young plant and want to extend the framework, leave the side shoots on but tie them in to where you want the growth to be. Established wisterias are very vigorous and it’s important to let them know who’s boss in the garden. Prune this month and again in February and they will reward you with abundance.
Most hedges can be given their final trim towards the end of this month, as the young birds have now left the nest and the foliage will not grow much after this. If you want a level top hedge, fix a post at either end and tie twine between them at the required height. Trim the sides of the hedge first, working from the bottom up, whether using a powered hedge trimmer or hand shears. The reason for working upwards is that as you cut, the trimmings will fall away and you will be better able to see where you are going. Make the hedge wider at the base and narrower at the top. This way it will stand up to the weather better. The top can be trimmed last using the twine as a guide.
Large-leaved hedges such as laurel cannot be trimmed with shears or hedge trimmers because these would cut through the large leaves, causing them to go brown. The way to cut these hedges is with secateurs. If you have a large hedge this is a long tiresome task, but the hedge will look so much better with no browned-off bits.
If you didn’t prune box hedges earlier in the year, wait until the weather gets a bit cooler later in the month and do it then.