The Best Time to Prune

Fall is here which means cool weather and frosty mornings are creeping in. Unfortunately, plants have no heater or jacket to keep warm, so they drop their leaves as temperatures plummet. If you’re like many gardeners, this is when you’ll want to hack everything back. Resist that urge – fall is not a good time to prune everything in your yard. The best time to cut back most plants is in late winter or early spring when they are fully dormant. Aggressive cutting during fall exposes newer growth, making the plant more susceptible to winter damage!

Spring BloomING TREES & SHRUBS

Make sure to prune these after they flower, using July 4th as a cut-off date

Examples: Lilac, Azalea, Rhododendron, Forsythia

Summer BloomING TREES & SHRUBS

Prune summer-blooming plants at the end of winter or early spring before they flush out

Examples: Butterfly Bush, Rose-of-Sharon, Crape Myrtle, Caryopteris, Panicle Hydrangeas

MOPHEAD & LACECAP HYDRANGEAS

Except for deadheading, these popular Hydrangea varieties should not be pruned at any time. Cutting them back will prevent them from blooming.

Roses

Roses like to be pruned once per year in late winter/early spring after your last frost date

PERENNIALS

Most perennials can be cut back in the fall EXCEPT Lavender, Russian Sage, and Geum

Ornamental grasses

Keep these around all winter to protect the base of the plant, where the new growth will emerge in spring. Prune them between March and April

EXCEPTIONS

Good reasons to break out your pruning shears year-round include:

• Dead, Diseased, or Dying sections – prune off whenever you see this becoming an issue. Waiting to cut these sections off will only hurt your plant.
• Deadheading – removing spent blooms can be done to encourage reblooming or to refresh them visually