Pruning Shrubs & Hedges

Winter is a prime time prune your trees and shrubs because most woody plants are dormant, making it an ideal time to give them a trim. Well-pruned plants produce more flowers and fruit. Pruning helps trees and shrubs ward off pests and diseases, so you’ll have to care for them less. Here’s how to prune almost any flowering shrub or fruit tree.

What To Prune In Winter

Pruning in winter during the dormant season helps many trees and shrubs because it leaves the plants with extra root and energy reserves that will support new growth on the remaining branches. Here is a partial list of shrubs and trees you can prune from winter. You’ll also find here a short list of trees not to prune during winter.

Shrubs

• Barberries
• Abelia
• Beauty berries
• Camellias
• Euonymous
• Hydrangeas

Trees

• Pears
• Crabapples
• Poplar
• Junipers
• Sumacs
• Cypress
• Plums

Don’t Prune During Winter

Some trees “bleed” or ooze sap when pruned in late winter or early spring. While oozing sap is not dangerous to the tree, it can make a sticky, dirty mess, especially on parked cars. Prune these trees in summer or fall:

• Maples
• Birches
• Dogwoods
• Walnuts
• Elms

What To Cut

Remove dead or dying branches. Prune out diseased limbs right away. Be sure to cut well below the diseased areas, and don’t prune when the plants are wet (water can spread disease). If you prefer to be extra cautious, rinse your tools with a solution of 10 percent bleach in water. Cut back branches that have grown over where you walk or mow so they don’t break off. Where you see two branches crossing, prune off the smaller one. Thin branches judiciously to allow sunlight and air into the center of trees and shrubs.

Pruning Dos And Don’ts

DO cut at an angle that mirrors the branch collar—the furrow of bark where branch and trunk meet. Cut the branch next to the branch collar. If you did it right, a circle of healthy callus will swell around the spot.

DO cut large branches in three parts. First, cut off about one-third of the branch to reduce the weight. Holding up a heavy branch while you prune it off the trunk will break your back and your saw, and tear the trunk’s bark. Next, undercut the remaining stub so the trunk bark won’t rip when the stub falls free. Last, make the final cut from the top, beside (but not cutting into) the branch collar.

DON’T leave stubs behind inviting insects and disease to move in and attack healthy tissue.

DON’T scalp your trees. A tree with a flat-top looks ridiculous, and it will grow weak new sprouts in place of healthy branches. Cut to the tree’s natural shape and let it grow up.