When to Prune Shrubs For Better Blooming: Trim Shrubs at the Right Time So You Don’t Cut Off the Flowers

If your forsythia , rhododendronor weigela has no flowers it ’s most likely due to cutting it back at the wrong time . Knowing when a bush blooms will puzzle out the job .

In Rhode Island ( USDA Zone 6 ) , the forsythia blooms in April . If it was looking bushy last July and you shear it back , you’re able to wager that you wo n’t have much of a bloom this year .

Most Spring flowering shrub , like forsythia , start growing their flower buds for the next time of year within just a few weeks of polish off the current year ’s blooming . Remember this fact and you ’ll experience which shrub to prune when , and you ’ll never rationalize at the wrong prison term again .

When to Prune Shrubs For Better Blooming?

forsythia plant –source

In this article

Spring Flowering Shrubs

#1. Forsythia

#2. Pieris

#3. Rhododendron

#4. Azalea

#5. lilac (Syringa)

#6. Mock orange (Philadelphus)

For bush that blooms in the Spring , do your pruning within 2 weeks after the shrub has land up flowering and then leave it alone for the rest of the season .

If it ’s absolutely necessary you may remove a few straggling branches but cut them out one - by - one on an as - needed basis so the flush on the rest of the shrub stay . Do not shear the entire shrub at this time or all the bloom will be cut off , ruin next season ’s show .

Summer or Fall Flowering Shrubs

#1. Spiraea

#2. Weigela

#3. Butterfly bush (Buddleia)

#4. Blue mist shrub (spigela)

#5. Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus)

#6. Summersweet (Clethra)

shrub that bloom in June , July , August or September can be pruned in late wintertime to shape them up for the coming time of year . But do n’t hold off until the middle of Spring to do it because most of the shrubs in this group start making the time of year ’s flower bud in the Spring .

Cut these shrubs back as hard as necessary just as they set about to leaf out . As with the Spring - bloom bush group , selective pruning throughout the growing time of year is hunky-dory – just do n’t take out the hedge shears to do the Book of Job . utilize small bridge player clippers or pruning hook to just cut the subdivision that involve to come off .

Best Time to Prune Evergreens

Related:39 Small and Dwarf Evergreen bush For Small Landscapes

#1. Yew (Taxus)

#2. Juniper (Juniperus)

#3. Pines (Pinus)

#4. Spruce (Picea)

These should be pruned when they are abeyant . Here in USDA zone 6 that means mid - December , January and February . The act of pruning bang starts a chemical response in the industrial plant that sends out newfangled ontogeny .

When the cuts are made just before Spring the upshot is lush novel foliage and branching in the forthcoming season . If the swing are made in late Summer or Autumn the new emergence that come forth will likely be shoot down by Robert Lee Frost before it has time to maturate enough ( aka harden off ) to survive the winter . This formula also applies to deciduous shrubs like :

A Word About Hydrangeas

It ’s important to know what variety of hydrangea you have to determine how to dress it . Generally , the Old hydrangeas ( Hydrangea macrophylla ) can be pruned after bloom . The newer miscellany such as Endless Summer ™ ( also H. macrophylla ) hydrangeas are breed to blossom on new or old wood so timing does n’t matter as much .

Hydrangea paniculata , which is pop in tree flesh , flush on current time of year ontogeny so it can be cut back just before Spring comes . When in question about what type of hydrangea you have do your research and use a very light hand if you are n’t sure .