Pruning not only helps your garden look good, but it is also essential for the healthy growth and flowering of your plants. Other reasons for this important gardening skill include deadwood removal, shaping to control or direct growth, minimizing the risk of falling branches, and harvesting fruits. To get the best results, it helps to prune your shrubs and trees at the right time of year. You should also avoid pruning during warm/humid/rainy weather. Follow our pruning schedule and learn when to prune your garden plants:

Late Winter:

Pruning plants in the winter can help promote quicker regrowth in the spring because most plants are dormant in the winter months. It may also be easier to prune plants in the winter without their foliage. Plants that you should prune in the winter include:

• Trumpet vine
• Hydrangeas (bloom on new wood)
• Potentilla
• Summer-blooming spireas
• Flowering crab
• Hawthorne
• Cotoneaster
• Oaks

Early Spring:

Similar to the winter, pruning in early spring helps fast regrowth of the plants. Here are the plants that you should prune in early spring:

• Junipers
• Honeysuckle
• Trumpet vine
• Roses
• Yews
• Arbs
• Hedges
• Rejuvenation pruning (spirea, forsythia, viburnum, honeysuckle)
• Flowering crab
• Hawthorne
• Cotoneaster
• Barberry
• Burning bush
• Dogwood
• Ninebark
• Smokebush

Mid Spring:

Pruning in the spring is great for encouraging more blooms. Plants to prune in mid spring are:

• Junipers
• Roses
• Yews
• Arbs
• Hedges

Late Spring:

Plants that need to be pruned in late spring include:

• Junipers
• Roses
• Arbs
• Hedges
• Maples
• Birch

Spring (after flowering):

After the flowers start to fade in the spring, you will need to prune:

• Lilac
• Bridal wreath spirea
• Forsythia
• Azalea
• Chokeberry
• Magnolia
• Redbud

Early Summer:

Summer pruning should be done to take overgrown landscape, increase curb appeal, and maintain the health of your plants. In the early summer, you should prune:

• Junipers
• Arbs
• Wisteria
• Maples
• Birch
• Hydrangeas (bloom on old wood)

Mid Summer:

Mid summer is also a good time for maintaining the plants’ appearance and health. Plants you should prune mid summer include:

• Boxwood (hard prune)
• Yews
• Hedges

Late Fall:

Some plants are best pruned in the fall if they do not handle cold weather well. Here are the plants you should prune late fall before the winter arrives:

• Hydrangeas (bloom on new wood)
• Potentilla
• Summer-blooming spireas
• Oaks

Hydrangeas:

Hydrangeas also need to be regularly pruned to maintain good health and appearance. Here are the hydrangeas you need to prune:

• New wood – paniculatas
• Endless Summers
• Annabelles
• Old wood – oakleafs, lacecaps, mopheads

Pruning Resource