Summer Pruning Tips

Summer Pruning

 1.  The Basics of How to Prune

•   Making proper cuts:  Always make “clean” cuts - 45 degrees on branches, no “stubs” allowed!  Watch for buds and prune to the proper ones for desired result.

•   Know your buds:  Note the difference between lateral, terminal (apical) and dormant buds.  Also note the difference between alternate and opposite buds on plants.

•   Types of Pruning:  Pinching, Shearing, Thinning and Heading Back.  Learn which plants respond to which type of pruning, and the proper techniques for each.  No plant butchery allowed!

•   Use the right tool for the right job and keep ‘em sharp!  Look at options for pruning tools – snips, bypass pruners, ratchet pruners, small folding saws, loppers, shears, pole pruners, and others.

2.  Why prune?  Have a purpose!

•   Increase fruiting/flowering for the future:  Maximize the production of blooms, fruit, berries, etc. by pruning the right way at the right time of year.

•   Improve shape/structure:  This can be done with some thinning and/or heading back, by removing crossing limbs, evening out branching and/or letting the plant attain its natural beauty in the landscape.  Avoid the “topping” of plants, especially trees in most cases.

•   Improve air circulation/decrease disease:  Let sun/wind into the center of the plant to improve air movement with thinning cuts.  This will cut down the potential for disease, particularly on prone plants like roses and many others.

•   No one says you have to prune everything every year:  Let your specimen tell you when it needs a prune.  Is it too big?  Blocking a view?  Burying the garage?  Obstructing other plants from growing?  Casting too much shade?  Growing onto the lawn?  Crowding a fence or siding on the house?  On the gutters or roof?  There are lots of good reasons to contemplate.

3.  Know the plants in your landscape

•   Watch for disease/damage:  Has the plant been healthy this growing season?  Is there any damage that needs to be fixed?  Sometimes a diseased plant can be cut back this time of year, sprayed with the proper product, then allowed to regrow with healthy foliage.

•   Prune after bloom – always a good rule to live by:  Knowing when your plants bloom is key.  Does the specimen bloom on new wood or old wood?  A few examples – Hydrangeas (new or old wood), Spiraea (new wood), Rhododendrons (old wood), Dogwood (old wood), Magnolia (old wood).  This time of year focus on pruning spring blooming plants first.                                                                  

•   The 1/3 rule – never cut more than 1/3 of a plant in a season to be safe:  Many of us break this rule on occasion, and with some plants more than a third is okay.  But you are always safe cutting off a 1/3 in height and/or width with deciduous plants.  With evergreens, we need to be a bit more careful.  A consistent light pruning each season or every other season will keep your plants growing slow and steady with good structure.  Avoid waiting 5 years and hacking something back – in almost all cases, this will result in an unsightly mess.

•   Put the right plant in the right spot, then you won’t have to prune as much!  When selecting plants for your landscape, look at their ultimate size and growth habit – does it fit the spot?  Do you need a dwarf variety instead?  Also consider, can this plant be pruned easily and will you take the time to do it?  Some plants, like boxwood or laurel, can take annual shearing, but they can’t be left alone for 5 years and then cut back to the original size.

 4.  What I look to prune in the late spring/early summer…

·         All broadleaved evergreens and hedges

·         Conifers – all random branched and whorled conifers as well

·         Japanese maples and all other upright trees that need thinning in crowns

·         All spring blooming shrubs, including Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Pieris

·         Spring blooming trees like Magnolias, Cherries, Plums, Crabapples

·         Winter/Spring Blooming heaths and heathers

·         Lavenders of all kinds to help keep compact and encourage repeat flowering in the summer/fall

·         Spiraeas, after bloom to encourage another bloom in the summer/fall

·         Quick tips on berry pruning in summer

·         Cleaning out suckers/watersprouts on fruit trees in summer

·         Maintaining roses for repeat flowering all summer/fall

·         Deadheading for repeat flowering on some perennial plants

·         Deadheading to prevent some plants from going to seed

·         Don’t forget to feed your plants this time of year to help with regrowth

Remember to put your pruning devices away in August and let your plants harden off before winter.  Once dormancy occurs, after hard frost, you can do some winter pruning as needed on deciduous plants.  ALWAYS leave broadleaved evergreen plants alone in the fall and winter.  You can start pruning them in the following spring after frost when safe to do so.  Remember we are always here to ask when the proper time is to prune anything in your yard! 

Created by Trevor Cameron, C.P.H.

for Sunnyside Nursery