Back in early January, I mentioned planning for the time to trim trees around your home.
Pruning is a necessary practice to improve aesthetics, plant health, and flowering.
Immediate reasons to prune can be grouped into the three D's; dead, diseased and damaged.
Whatever reason you have for attempting to trim back some of the plant growth keep in mind that timing is critical to success.
For instance some woody shrubs and trees bloom on old wood. This means that back in the fall the buds were set for the spring show. If they were to be pruned now you would be cutting off the flower show for the year and have to wait until next year.
On the other hand, pruning now during the dormant season will work for those plants that set flowers on new growth.
Azaleas are a good example of a shrub that should not be pruned at this time. Azaleas and others that fall in the Rhododendron genus set new flowers shortly after flowering in the spring.
For this reason we say that spring flowering plant material needs to be pruned immediately after flowering.
Other examples of spring bloomers are forsythia, spring roses, viburnums, lilac, early blooming spirea and more. Plants that set buds on new wood can be pruned now until the buds break and you can see leaves.
Examples of these include beautyberry, types of hydrangeas, crape myrtle and many others.
Don't forget about the shrubs that need to be pruned but do not have flashy flowers.
Always choose the right tools for the job, start with clean equipment, and make clean cuts.
This does not cover all topics when it comes to pruning so remember, always ask for professional help if you are uncomfortable or unsure about the job.
And of course always dispose of limbs and debris according to your local ordinances.
