It’s a good time for pruning

Pruning shrubs worries people – they worry that they are pruning at the wrong time of year which will
somehow harm the plant or that perhaps they need to prune in a specific way which they have not learned
about.
The good news is that most people can prune a shrub with just a simple pair of pruning shears, and now is
a good time to prune all those shrubs that bloomed earlier in spring such as lilacs, forsythia, and
hardy magnolia.
What to prune
All spring blooming shrubs start to form the blossom on the stems that they produce in summer. The blooms
wait through the winter and then produce their brilliant floral display in spring.
The shrubs have not grown very much this year, so pruning now will allow the new growth plenty of time to
form the buds for next year.
If it has been a while since the shrub was last pruned, you will likely have a mass of old stems at the
base of the shrub which do not produce as many flowers as newer stems. Taking out a few of these old
stems (about one-third) will allow new, vibrant stems to grow and give a healthier overall plant.
This will also decrease the height of the shrub slightly. Take the other stems down to a moderate level
so that the shrub is within bounds.
Over the next two summers repeat taking out the older stems, one third a year, until the whole bush is
filled with young wood.
Other shrubs may not need to be pruned as heavily and a few selective branches can be trimmed to keep the
shrub within bounds.
Roses
There are also some shrubs, such as some roses that you pruned last winter and they have already bloomed
and started to take over the footpath or archway. You do not have to wait until next winter before you
can walk through the arch – you can prune them now too!

This is more "tidying" than major pruning, but you can reduce over-exuberant stems all summer
long by tracing each stem back to where it joined the previous one and cutting it off there.
Encore azaleas
The one shrub that confuses the issue is the re-blooming Encore Azalea and other modern creations. These
bloom on old wood in spring, then put out new growth which then produces blooms throughout the summer.
Fortunately the rate of growth is slow and annual trimming after the first major flush of flowers is all
that is usually needed.
This will delay the new growth a week or two but you will still get blooms all summer long.
Overzealous pruning
There are people who are far from worried about pruning and spend needless hours trimming every stem that
dares to grow more than an inch above the rest. For boxwood and other hedge material this is fine, but
for azaleas, forsythia and other arching shrubs it is a fight against the nature of the plant.
Generally this indicates a poor choice of shrub for the location because it is far easier to let a six
foot shrub grow to that height than trying to persuade it do stay at three foot. Constant pruning of new
growth also inhibits the production of next years blooms.
Conclusion
So go ahead and trim the arrogant rose that is impeding your walk to the back door, and prune the
forsythia that looked great in spring but is obscuring the window. Both you and the plant will survive
the pruning.
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blog: www.katesgardenjournal.com