Pruning & Trimming Guide

Pruning is the process of selectively removing parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, damaged growth, or spent flowers, to improve its health, appearance, and performance in the landscape. When done correctly, pruning helps plants grow stronger, look better, and produce more flowers, fruit, or healthy new growth.

Why Prune?

Pruning is an important part of keeping trees, shrubs, and flowering plants healthy and attractive. It can help highlight ornamental features such as flowers, fruit, foliage, or plant structure. Pruning is also used to control plant size, maintain a desired shape, and remove growth that may be weak, damaged, diseased, or out of place.

Dead, dying, diseased, or broken branches should always be removed when noticed. It is also helpful to remove branches that cross, rub against each other, or crowd the center of the plant. Opening up the plant’s structure improves air circulation and can help reduce insect and disease problems.

When shaping a plant, it is important to understand its natural growth habit. Trying to force a plant into a shape that does not match its natural form can lead to poor results. In most cases, plants should be allowed to grow slightly larger each year, trimming only a portion of the new growth rather than cutting back too aggressively.

Pruning Methods

Light Trimming

Light trimming is used to maintain a plant’s shape or size throughout the growing season. This type of pruning is usually done between late winter and late summer, depending on the plant. Deadheading, or removing spent flowers, is also a form of light pruning and can encourage many flowering plants to produce more blooms.

Annual Hard Pruning

Some deciduous shrubs benefit from being cut back hard once a year. This method is often used for plants that produce their best flowers, stems, or foliage on new growth. Annual hard pruning is typically done in late winter or early spring before new growth begins.

Rejuvenation or Thinning

Rejuvenation pruning helps older shrubs stay healthy and productive. Each year, about one-third of the oldest branches are removed to encourage fresh new growth, improve air circulation, and maintain a stronger plant structure. This is usually done in late winter or early spring, or immediately after flowering for spring-blooming plants.

Basic Pruning Tools

Having the right tools makes pruning easier and helps create cleaner cuts. Common pruning tools include hand pruners, loppers, and small pruning saws. Keeping tools sharp and clean is important to protect plant health and prevent unnecessary damage.

We carry a great selection of pruning tools for trees, shrubs, perennials, and landscape maintenance.

When to Prune

The best time to prune depends on the type of plant, when it blooms, and how much pruning is needed. Broken, dead, diseased, or damaged branches can be removed at any time of year.

Most trees and shrubs that bloom on new growth are best pruned in late winter or early spring before new growth begins. Plants that bloom on old wood, such as rhododendrons, azaleas, lilacs, and some hydrangeas, should be pruned right after flowering so you do not remove next year’s flower buds.

February – April

Late winter through early spring is a good time to prune many summer-flowering shrubs and plants that bloom on new growth. This may include butterfly bush, some hydrangeas, crape myrtle, roses, spirea, and privet. This is also a common time to prune fruit trees and many evergreens, including arborvitae, holly, boxwood, juniper, and yew.

May – June

Prune most spring-flowering trees and shrubs immediately after they bloom. This includes plants such as andromeda, azalea, forsythia, rhododendron, lilac, dogwood, flowering cherry, flowering plum, and certain hydrangea varieties.

June – July

Early to midsummer is often a good time to thin many deciduous trees, including birch, linden, maple, honey locust, flowering cherry, and flowering plum. Hedges can also be trimmed as needed during this time to maintain their shape.

August – December

Avoid heavy pruning late in the season. Cutting plants back too much during this time can encourage tender new growth that may not harden off before winter, making it more likely to suffer frost damage. From late summer through winter, pruning should generally be limited to removing dead, broken, or damaged branches.

With the right timing and technique, pruning can help keep your landscape plants healthier, stronger, and more beautiful year after year.