Pruning in winter = healthy spring growth

Correct pruning is a landscape practice that can enhance the health, vigor, and aesthetics of your yard's trees and shrubs. While you should prune some plants and trees at other times of the year, there are distinct advantages to pruning in the winter.

1. During the winter, most woody plants are dormant. Being dormant is helpful because many diseases and insects that can potentially invade pruning cuts are inactive at this time, too.
2. After leaves have fallen, it is much easier to see a plant's overall form and structure. Without visual obstructions, you can identify and remove any damaged and diseased branches.
3. Pruning too early (in the late summer or early fall) can stimulate new growth that may not harden off before the cold weather. Waiting to prune in the winter removes this concern.
4. Winter pruning is beneficial for your plants, leaving them with surplus root and energy reserves to quickly heal wounds. Also, winter pruning supports vigorous spring growth, obscuring any pruning cuts.
5. Winter pruning is also good for you, giving you a reason to go outside on a mild winter day to enjoy your landscape.

So, which plants should you prune in the winter? Here is a short list of plants that appreciate a good trim in late winter.

• Summer flowering trees – Ornamental trees that bloom in summer such as crape myrtles, vitex, smoke tree and rose of Sharon
• Hydrangea paniculata and H. arborescens – Unlike their cousin H. macrophylla, these two hydrangeas bloom on new wood, so cut them back hard to promote growth and flowers.  H. paniculata can be cut back to two buds above the base of the flower stem. Prune H. arborescens back to varying heights of one to three feet from the ground.
• Fruit trees – Fruit trees flower on growth from the previous season, but pruning should occur when the tree is dormant, so there will be some flower and fruit loss.  The good news is that pruning promotes vigorous growth and larger, better-tasting fruits.  Each type of fruit tree has some special requirements so do some research before you begin cutting.
• Roses – Hybrid tea, old-fashioned and climbing roses should be pruned right before the leaf buds break.

What should you NOT prune in the winter? Here is a list of plants that prefer to be pruned in late spring or summer.

• Spring flowering shrubs – Forsythia, quince, azaleas, bridal wreath spirea and other shrubs that bloom in spring should be pruned immediately after they flower.
• Spring flowering trees – Lilacs, ornamental fruit trees and Eastern redbuds, for example, should be pruned right after the tree finishes flowering.
• Hydrangea macrophylla – Old-fashioned, pompon hydrangeas set bloom buds on the previous year’s growth.  It’s safe to remove faded flowers and dead branches.
• Once-blooming roses – Old-fashioned roses that only flower once each growing season, such as Damasks and moss roses bloom on old wood and should be pruned in the summer after they have flowered.
• Gardenias – These should be pruned immediately after they bloom.
• Bleeding trees – Maples, birches, dogwoods, walnuts, and elms produce copious amounts of sap when they are pruned in late winter.  Pruning won’t hurt the trees, but it will be less messy if you wait until summer.

If you would like some help with your winter yard maintenance, including pruning, please give us a call at 541-729-8029, and we'll schedule an appointment that works for you.