While it may seem like you can simply go at your shrubs and bushes with a pair of clippers and a determination to get things done, you do need proper pruning techniques in order to have a thriving garden. Before you grab the shears, consult this guide and know what exactly to do for each part of your garden.
For Spring-Flowering Plants: Lilac, forsythia, and rhododendron are early-spring bloomers that grow flowers on wood formed during the previous year. To keep these plants healthy, you should prune them in late spring, immediately after they are done blooming. If you prune them in the winter or later in the growing season, you’ll likely impede the amount of spring bloom as you remove flower buds from the plant.
For Clipped Hedges: To form a hedge made of a plant’s solid green wall, prune any new growth during the early part of the growing season. Make sure that the top is narrower than the base of the plant so that the lower branches still get sunlight and are not blocked by the upper branches. You can stop pruning your hedge about six weeks before your area’s average first frost.
For Annuals and Perennials: These plants look best if you do what is called deadheading. This is removing the faded flowers from the main part of the plant. Annuals and perennials are able to direct more energy to continual blooming when they don’t have dead blooms hanging around.
For Need-Leaf Evergreens: Shrubs and bushes with needlelike or scalelike foliage, such as spruce, cypress, fir, yew, juniper, and arborvitae, should be pruned early in the growing season. When you’re pruning these seasonal trees, be careful of cutting back into wood without green needles. The wood may not sprout any new growth if you cut too far back into it.
