When to prune in Melbourne's east: a season-by-season guide

Melbourne's eastern suburbs give us four real seasons, and your garden notices every one of them. Prune at the wrong time and you can cut off a season of flowers or leave fresh growth exposed to frost. Here is how I time it across the year.

Late winter is the big one

Most structural pruning happens in late winter, while plants are still dormant. Roses, deciduous fruit trees and ornamental grasses all get cut back hard before the spring flush.

• Roses: cut back by about a third, to an outward-facing bud

• Hydrangeas: remove spent heads and thin out the oldest canes

• Fruit trees: shape for airflow and an open centre

Spring is for shaping, not cutting

Once growth starts, ease off. Light tip pruning keeps hedges tidy and encourages bushiness, but heavy cuts now waste the plant's energy.

A good rule: if it flowers in spring, prune it straight after flowering, not before.

Summer is for the secateurs, not the saw

Deadhead, trim back leggy perennials and keep an eye on the fast growers. This is maintenance, not surgery.

Autumn is clean-up time

Cut back perennials as they die down, clear leaf litter and mulch the beds before winter. Leave frost-tender plants alone until the worst of the cold has passed.

If you would rather not track all of this yourself, my garden care rounds handle the timing for you, season after season.