Marietta Daisies Garden Club

WINTER & EARLY SPRING PRUNING

Plant Chart

Almanac

		Trees and Shrubs to Prune in Late Winter or Early Spring
	WHEN	HOW
Apple	Late winter to early spring	Prune moderately. Keep tree open with the main branches well-spaced. Avoid sharp V-shaped crotches.
Abelia	Late winter to early spring	Maintain a graceful arching form by cutting away some of the oldest stems at ground level. Pinch growing shoots in spring if you want bushier growth.
Azalea	Late winter or during the growing season	Before growth begins for the season, improve the form of the bush by shortening stems that jut out of place. During the growing season, pinch growing shoot tips where you want bushier growth.
Butterfly bush	Late winter	Cut all stems to the ground.
Chaste tree	Late winter to early spring	Evergreen species need little pruning beyond cutting out weak, twiggy, dead, or broken branches.
Cherry	Late winter to early spring	Prune the most vigorous shoots moderately.
Clethra (Summersweet)	Early spring	Prune moderately. Keep the tree open with the main branches well spaced. Avoid sharp V-shaped crotches.
Crape myrtle	Late winter	Wherever the plant is not totally winter-hardy, cut off winter-killed wood or cut the whole plant to the ground. Little prune ing is needed where this plant is cold-hardy.
Dogwood	Late winter to early spring	Prune the most vigorous shoots moderately.
Hibiscus (Rose of Sharon)	Early spring	Prune moderately. Keep the tree open with the main branches well-spaced. Avoid sharp V-shaped crotches.
Hydrangea	Mostly late winter, but it depends on the species	For smooth hydrangea, cut all stems to the ground. For bigleaf or oakleaf hydrangea, cut stems with old flowers still attached bwell-spacedack to fat flower buds. Some hydrangea are NOT pruned in late winter. To avoid cutting off future flower buds, see our guide to pruning hydrangea varieties.
Peach	Late winter to early spring	Remove half of last year’s growth. Keep tree headed low.
Plum	Late winter to early spring	Cut dead, diseased branches; trim rank growth moderately.
Roses	Early spring	Cut dead and weak growth; cut branches or canes to four or five buds. See our article about pruning roses for more information.
Smoke bush	Late winter or early spring, before growth begins	Needs little pruning unless you grow it for its purple leaves rather than for its flowers. In this case, prune severely to stimulate vigorous new growth each spring.