We get many questions about pruning. One that comes up frequently is, “Will I harm my plants if they are pruned at the wrong time?” The answer is that it depends on what is being pruned. Most trees and shrubs can survive ill-timed pruning, but you may lose the flowers for that season, as well as have to deal with an unsightly shrub for a while.
We can avoid that by pruning at just the right time. Coming up next week we will start dormant pruning. This is the time of year when we trim up shrubs and trees that bloom on new wood. We want to catch these guys before they leaf out and set their flower buds for the season. When they are trimmed back before they wake up, they start growing new growth as soon as the weather warms, which will give you many more flowers for the upcoming season.
A few popular shrubs you may have that bloom on new wood:
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- Roses
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- Prunus and Malus Trees
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- Paniculata Hydrangeas
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- Rose of Sharon
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- Spirea
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- Butterfly bush
We love to prune and clean out roses, here is a before and after of a rose that had years of dead cane build up.
It’s also a good time to give aggressive shrubs a hard pruning back, like the burning bushes and privet hedges. They can survive just fine, and you get them reduced in size without having to go through an awkward stick stage.
And lastly, rejuvenation pruning. If you have an old shrub that you are ready for it to start anew, some shrubs can be cut all the way back and they will come back like a fresh new shrub.
In Maine gardening zones 4 and 5 best time for dormant pruning is when the nighttime temperature is above 20 and the daytime temps are below 50.
We’ve got a short window this month, so if you’d like some help getting your landscaping all ready for spring, let us know!