You’re almost ready to put away those winter boots and celebrate a hard-won return to spring. Your garden might also be showing signs of waking up in the coming weeks, so it’s a prime time to get those spring pruning chores lined up before your garden’s busiest season. Learn which plants to prep now for the busy time ahead with our spring pruning guide!
There are many advantages of spring pruning, aside from the obvious benefit of getting outside and playing with the dirt again. Here are some things to consider if you’re debating to get going or not:
Before starting any pruning jobs, ensure your garden tools are clean and in good repair to avoid spreading disease—or even making poor cuts into branches that could lead to problems.
Not all garden plants like spring pruning, and instead enjoy their makeover in the fall and winter months. The difference between winter and spring pruning is that while some garden varieties enjoy a good trim at the end of the growing season, many like their haircuts right before they get started!
Let us guide you on how to get going with spring pruning and what plants, shrubs, and flowers enjoy the warm light of spring for a refresh.
TENDER SHRUBS
Your Mediterranean shrubs, like lavender and rosemary, can be pruned in early spring. Giving lavender a hard prune in the spring encourages new growth and stops thick, woody stems from developing.
HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS
Plants like sedums, thistles, or any flowering plants you left up for decorative seed heads over winter, should be cut now. Remove all seed heads, brown leaves, and stems.
ORNAMENTAL GRASSES
Deciduous grasses that have been standing all winter, like Miscanthus, should be cut back hard in March, about three inches from the ground. Cut back all old, brown stems and leave only new, green shoots. Give shorter grasses a rounded cut for a nice shape, while taller varieties can be cut straight across.
EVERGREEN SHRUBS
If you’re wondering when to prune evergreen shrubs, spring is an excellent time! Needle-bearing evergreens, such as cedar and juniper, should be pruned in the spring to eliminate any tips killed over winter and allow for plenty of time for active new growth.
SUMMER FLOWERING SHRUBS
Spring is the best time to prune summer flowering shrubs like roses, butterfly bush, and some varieties of clematis. After their pre-growth pruning, trim back again to remove spent flowers as needed.
You might be tempted to get carried away with all that tidying up you’re doing, but remember that some garden favorites prefer to be left alone at this time of year. As a part of our spring pruning guide, here are some plants we do not recommend snipping at just yet in case you cut back valuable new buds and blooms. Some flowering shrubs, like rhododendrons, bloom on old wood.
We hope our spring pruning guide for 2023 will help you get started this spring to clean your landscape and get reacquainted with the powerful magic of rebirth. We look forward to seeing you soon at one of our locations for all of your spring gardening needs!
