The Fear of Pruning

One of the most confusing things in gardening is pruning. When to prune? How to prune? How much to prune? Are all questions running through a gardeners mind. So how do you make pruning simple? Well for now, let’s just concentrate on flowering shrubs, or we’ll be here forever. A general rule of thumb for pruning is first to know what season the shrub flowers in. A shrub that flowers in the spring should be pruned once the flowers have dropped from the plant. Pruning at this point allows time for the plant to develop new flower buds for next year. For the shrubs that flower mid to late season, it’s best to prune in early spring, giving the shrub time to again develop new buds for the following year. So just before the blades of your shears slice through your favorite plants branch, ask yourself ‘when was the last time I saw a flower on this plant?’