Year-Round Garden Maintenance: Trimming and Pruning All Plant Life
Gardening enthusiasts, take heed! Pruning your plants is a crucial aspect of maintaining a flourishing garden, and timing is everything. Proper pruning can improve your plants' health, encourage growth, and boost blooming and fruiting. But, slice at the wrong moment, and you risk damaging your plants and inviting issues like weakened growth, disease susceptibility, and even death. So, let our gardening gurus guide you through the optimal pruning times for every season.
Our experts include:
- Gene Caballero: Co-founder at GreenPal, a landscaping business.
- Nathan Heinrich: Horticulturist and botanical designer.
- Rebecca Sears: CMO at seed company Ferry-Morse.
Spring Pruning:As you venture into your garden in the springtime, assess each plant using the "three Ds" rule: remove dead, damaged, or diseased branches. Make sure to clean your clippers between pruning each plant to prevent disease spread.
Blooming plants, shrubs, and trees should not be pruned until after they bloom, except for roses and summer-blooming plants, which bloom on new growth. Evergreen shrubs, like azaleas and gardenias, should be pruned after blooming, while deciduous shrubs, like hydrangeas and forsythia, should be cut back by up to 25%. Flowering trees like dogwood and saucer magnolia should only be lightly pruned.
Citrus trees are best pruned in spring after their fruiting. Perennials, woody plants, and ornamental grasses should be pruned during spring's growth spurt. Dead leaves and twigs should be removed from perennials, but leave 6-inch-long branches on the ground. Ornamental grasses should not be cut back until spring, as they provide architectural interest, food, and shelter for winter wildlife.
Summer Pruning:Simply put, summertime is the least demanding season for pruning. Dead flowers should be removed, a process known as "deadheading," to encourage new blooms, promote air circulation, and maintain a tidy appearance.
Light pruning may be necessary for fast-growing vines and perennials like tomatoes, but be mindful of the stress summer heat can put on plants. Avoid heavy summer pruning to prevent stunting growth and sunburn.
Fall Pruning:While pruning is possible during the fall, timing is crucial. Pruning late in the fall can stimulate new growth that may not harden off before the first frost, resulting in winter kill. Spring-blooming plants should not be pruned at all during fall.
Certain types of vegetables, such as asparagus and Swiss chard, can be pruned in fall, which helps prevent pests and diseases from overwintering in debris. Evergreen trees and shrubs should be lightly pruned to remove dead or diseased branches and prepare for winter.
Winter Pruning:Winter is an excellent time for aggressive pruning as most plants are dormant. However, be cautious not to cut back more than a third of the plant's overall mass. Deciduous fruit trees, evergreens, and shrubs can be pruned in winter, while perennials and roses should be pruned before spring growth develops.
Know your growing zone! Spring on the West Coast is quite different from spring on the East Coast. Use the USDA growing zone map to determine your zone and follow the expert tips to prune your garden at the proper time. Happy pruning!
- For outdoor gardening enthusiasts, RealSimple provides valuable tips on pruning perennials during spring's growth spurt, recommending to remove dead leaves and twigs but leaving 6-inch-long branches on the ground. [Outdoor Gardening, RealSimple, Home, Gardening, perennials]
- According to Nathan Heinrich, a horticulturist and botanical designer, evergreen shrubs like azaleas and gardenias should be pruned after blooming, while deciduous shrubs like hydrangeas and forsythia should be cut back by up to 25% in spring. [prune, shrubs, weather]
- In the text from RealSimple, gardeners are advised to assess their garden in the springtime using the "three Ds" rule, which involves removing dead, damaged, or diseased branches. [Spring Pruning, three Ds, prune]
- The Getty Images photo with ID 1256125259 depicts a person pruning a tree in a garden, highlighting the importance of proper pruning techniques to promote plant health and growth. [gettyimages, pruning, garden]
