Early spring is a great time to prune many of your shrubs. Keep this general rule in mind: if it blooms in the spring, prune shortly after blooming. If it blooms in the summer, prune it now.
Those plants that you should not prune until after they bloom in the spring include lilacs, azaleas, rhododendrons, viburnum, weigela, chokecherry, and forsythia.
Pruning during the winter or early spring won’t hurt or kill the plant, but you’ll remove that season’s flowers.
Plants such as potentilla, dogwood, spirea, alpine currant, and annabelle hydrangea will perform best if they are rejuvenated, which should be done in early spring/late winter. Rejuvenation is done by pruning the plant back to just a few inches above ground level. Rejuvenated plants will grow back quickly and reach full size during a single season.
Hydrangeas
When it comes to pruning hydrangeas, it’s very important to know what type you have.
Annabelle Hydrangeas
As mentioned above, annabelle hydrangeas should be cut back now to just a few inches above the ground each spring. This will help to give stronger plants that don’t flop over as easily when they bloom.
Panicle Hydrangeas (Limelight, Little Lime and all others with cone shaped flowers.)
Trim back and shape the plants as needed in late winter/early spring, removing no more than ⅓ of the plant. This will encourage more branching and blooms. This can be done every year.
Macrophylla (Big Leaf) Hydrangeas (Summer Crush, Bloomstruck, etc.)
Be patient with these plants when it comes to pruning as they may send out growth from previous years stems or from ground level. Once it has started leafing out, remove any previous stems that do not have growth.
Shrub and hybrid roses should be pruned once they start leafing out, removing any of the previous years dead wood.
We are here to help
If you have any questions or want to call in a local garden expert, get in touch with Pleasant View Gardens and we will be happy to help!
Pleasant View Gardens
Long Lake, MN 55356
