Spring Pruning: A Guide for Beginners
What to Prune in Spring
As the days get longer and the weather warms up, it’s time to start pruning your plants to help them grow strong and healthy. Here are some of the things you should be cutting back in spring:
- Spring-flowering shrubs: Prune out the oldest flowered stems to encourage new growth and blooms next spring.
- Herbaceous perennials: Cut back any remaining dead stems to make way for new shoots.
- Ornamental grasses: Trim off the old foliage to promote healthy growth.
- Woody plants: Coppice (cut back hard) certain shrubs and trees to produce dramatic summer foliage.
How to Prune Spring-Flowering Shrubs
As soon as the blooms start to fade on your spring-flowering shrubs, it’s time to prune them. Use sharp secateurs or loppers to cut out the oldest flowered stems. This will encourage strong new shoots to grow from the base, and those shoots will produce blooms next spring.
Pruning Herbaceous Perennials
Herbaceous perennials are plants that die back to the ground in winter. In spring, you can cut back any remaining dead stems. However, if you have mid to late summer flowering perennials, such as rudbeckias and sedums, wait until spring to prune them back. This will provide added frost protection.
Trimming Ornamental Grasses
You can trim back clumps of ornamental grasses in early spring, including evergreen types. Use sharp secateurs to carefully trim off the old foliage as close to the ground as possible. Avoid cutting the new leaves emerging from the base.
Coppicing Woody Plants
Coppicing is a pruning technique that involves cutting back woody plants hard, close to the ground. This promotes strong, vigorous shoots with large leaves that can give your garden a lush, tropical look by summer. Some examples of woody plants that can be coppiced include cotinus, sambucus, catalpa, and paulownia.
Tips for Pruning
- Choose a dry, sunny day to prune.
- Use sharp tools to make clean cuts.
- Prune to the correct shape and size for the plant.
- Remove any dead or diseased branches.
- Water the plants well after pruning.
