Azaleas, Forsythia, Loropetalum, no, no, not yet. Roses, Camellias, Crape Myrtles, Lirope, yes, end of February, yes and yes. If you prune your Azaleas, Forsythia and Loropetalum now, expect to lose both your beautiful flowers and the chance to win yard of the month. Wait until they finish blooming this spring, then prune them. You can prune your Roses, Camellias and Crape Myrtles now, but waiting until the end of the month is preferred on Roses and any Camellias that are still in bloom. If you like nice, natural, show stopping, flowering shrubs, then do the following when it comes to pruning.
1. Never use hedge pruners on blooming plants. Why? Because you will mistakenly box them up and your poor shrubs will be crying to leave your yard. The shrubs will go from God’s beautiful, natural full form to formal, frugal mistakes on a stem. All the growth of the plant will be pushed out to the edges, with nothing growing inside the plant... and your plants will be talking about you.
2. Selectively prune your blooming Azaleas, Loropetalums and spring blooming shrubs after they finish blooming. This is the time to prune them aggressively to keep them in control. They will have time to grow back during the summer. Are any of your shrubs way too big? You might want to consider several renewal prunings (cut them down to 6-12” in height) and let them start over this spring.
3. Look for the tallest shoot on the shrub. Grab it. Follow the shoot down inside the shrub canopy a good bit to make the cut. Depending on the size and variety, you may be pruning one foot to several feet off. I will continue to grab the next highest shoot and repeat until the shrub gets back into check. Watch this video for more detailed directions.
4. Keep the base of the shrub wider than the top of the shrub to keep fullness at the base. Sunlight needs to shine on the lower leaves for the the base of the plant to be full.
Pruning is one of the best ways to add that super “WOW” value to your yard this spring.
Planting to Grow,
Jeff
Azaleas, Forsythia, Loropetalum, no, no, not yet. Roses, Camellias, Crape Myrtles, Lirope, yes, end of February, yes and yes. If you prune your Azaleas, Forsythia and Loropetalum now, expect to lose both your beautiful flowers and the chance to win yard of the month. Wait until they finish blooming this spring, then prune them. You can prune your Roses, Camellias and Crape Myrtles now, but waiting until the end of the month is preferred on Roses and any Camellias that are still in bloom. If you like nice, natural, show stopping, flowering shrubs, then do the following when it comes to pruning.
1. Never use hedge pruners on blooming plants. Why? Because you will mistakenly box them up and your poor shrubs will be crying to leave your yard. The shrubs will go from God’s beautiful, natural full form to formal, frugal mistakes on a stem. All the growth of the plant will be pushed out to the edges, with nothing growing inside the plant... and your plants will be talking about you.
2. Selectively prune your blooming Azaleas, Loropetalums and spring blooming shrubs after they finish blooming. This is the time to prune them aggressively to keep them in control. They will have time to grow back during the summer. Are any of your shrubs way too big? You might want to consider several renewal prunings (cut them down to 6-12” in height) and let them start over this spring.
3. Look for the tallest shoot on the shrub. Grab it. Follow the shoot down inside the shrub canopy a good bit to make the cut. Depending on the size and variety, you may be pruning one foot to several feet off. I will continue to grab the next highest shoot and repeat until the shrub gets back into check. Watch this video for more detailed directions.
4. Keep the base of the shrub wider than the top of the shrub to keep fullness at the base. Sunlight needs to shine on the lower leaves for the the base of the plant to be full.
Pruning is one of the best ways to add that super “WOW” value to your yard this spring.
Planting to Grow,
Jeff