Proper pruning is a more than a chore. It’s an art that can make all the difference when it comes to healthy, lush-looking shrubs and bushes. It gives you a chance to remove all those dead and unsightly branches while keeping diseased branches from infecting an entire tree or shrub. Proper cutting also helps a shrub maintain its shape.
So how do you decide when to get out the pruning shears? It all depends on the types of shrubs and bushes you’re caring for.
Spring Pruning
Species that flower in the spring such as rhododendron, roses, and lilac bushes depend on the previous year’s growth for their flowers. This is important to know because you don’t want to go in chopping random off random branches. To encourage more flowers and growth, find a few of the older branches and cut them to the ground. The best time to prune these bushes is in late spring after they have finished flowering.
Summer Pruning
Species that bloom in the summer grow their flowers on the new growth of the current season. Plants such as raspberries, blackberries, butterfly bush, and crape myrtle should be pruned during the end of summer after they have borne their fruit.
Raspberries should be pruned to the ground after you’ve harvested the berries. If you have everbearing raspberries then only prune the ones that produce in the summer. The dark brown bark should be an indicator. Green bark indicates it has another season left in it.
Winter Pruning
Late winter, such as February, right before the arrival of spring signals plants to start growing again. It’s a great time to do most of your pruning for ornamental and fruit-bearing trees. Apples, crab apples, pears, cherries, and grapes all should be pruned before the new growth begins. This encourages better fruit and foliage production. It’s important to trim fruit trees so that sunlight can reach the inner and lower branches.
Pruning is a simple and effective way to maintain the health of your trees and shrubs. Need help tending to your lawn? Visit our Myrtle Beach lawn care page for more info!
