Forsythia should be pruned after it is done blooming in the spring
You may have heard that you should do much of your pruning in the spring while your trees and shrubs are still dormant. However, this could destroy the floral display of some species. Why would this happen and which species are affected?
Last Year vs. This Year: Wood and Buds
Trees and shrubs vary on when they produce their flower buds and generally fall into two groups: the “planners” and the “procrastinators”. We are prone to imagine that they fall on the procrastination side and produce flower buds every spring as new wood emerges. These are safe to prune in late winter or early spring before the plant blossoms since you won’t be disturbing the blooms.
However, some trees and shrubs do fall more into the “planner” category. They are efficient and start forming their flower buds in the fall before the next growing season since they tend to put forth their flowers so early in the year. If you were to prune them while they are dormant, you definitely run the risk of stripping away a lot of the flower buds and destroying your blossom display. Instead, you would prune spring flowering shrubs and trees once they are done blooming.
Which Trees and Shrubs?
This is by no means a comprehensive list, but here are some of the most common trees and shrubs that should be pruned after they are done blooming. It is a good idea to ask a professional about the specific trees and shrubs in your yard to be sure.
- Azalea and rhododendron
- Beautybush
- Deutzia
- Flowering crabapples
- Forsythia
- Hawthorn
- Honeysuckle
- Kerria
- Lilac
- Quince
- Viburnum
- Weigela
Do you have any of these trees and shrubs in your garden?
Image by Elvert Barnes under a Flickr Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
