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The Garden FAQ Index |

Pruning Deciduous Shrubs At Planting

When shrubs are transplanted, pruning is sometimes
necessary. Light pruning of roots or tops may be needed if
they are broken, damaged or dead. Prune tops by the
thinning-out method to reduce the overall height and width
of the young plant by 10 to 25 percent.

Shrubs transplanted with a ball of soil (B & B or B & P)
or from a container often will not require much pruning.
Occasionally, branches may have been damaged in transit, and
these should be removed at planting.

Pruning Mature Deciduous Shrubs

Correct pruning is one of the most essential of all
management practices for shrubs in the home landscape.
Proper pruning will help keep shrubs vigorous, maintain them
in proper shape and form for a desirable landscape effect,
and add years to their usefulness.

Prune deciduous shrubs to maintain natural habit of
growth; remove dead, diseased or broken branches; promote
flower and fruit development; encourage vigorous growth of
plants with colored twigs; and improve chances of survival
at transplanting time.

With most shrubs, the ideal time to prune is during the
dormant season before new growth begins. Spring flowering
shrubs, such as forsythia and lilac, should be pruned
shortly after flowering to avoid removing flower buds.
Prune shrubs that bloom after the end of June in the winter
or spring before new growth starts. These plants develop
their flower buds during the spring growth period. Shrubs
that bloom on current season's growth include rose-of-sharon
and oakleaf hydrangea.

In general, most deciduous shrubs should be thinned out
rather than sheared or cut back. Thinning out prevents
excessive or unsightly branch formation at the top of the
plant and maintains the natural habit of growth. Thinning
is done by cutting off a branch where it is attached to the
main stem. This method, the least conspicuous of all
type of pruning, is best used on plants that are too dense.
To develop branches that grow toward the outside of the
plant, remove the inward growing branches and prune to an
outward facing bud or branch.

Prune branches at the point of attachment to another
branch or back to a bud. Pruning just above a bud prevents
dieback of the stem, and a new branch will develop from the
bud. Shearing causes dense growth to develop at the ends of
the branches. Such growth shades the rest of the plant,
which gradually loses its lower foliage and becomes sparse
and spindly-looking.

You can maintain plants at a given height and width for
years by thinning out. This method of pruning is best done
with hand pruning shears, not hedge shears. Thin out the
oldest and tallest stems first.

Older shrubs that have become too large or contain
considerable unproductive wood should be rejuvenated. Prune
the plant by cutting off the oldest branches at the ground,
leaving only the young stems. If there are not many younger
stems, remove the older wood over a three-year period to
maintain the overall shape of the plant. New shoots that
develop can be cut back to various lengths by the thinning-
out method, which encourages the development of strong
branches. Plants that often become overgrown and benefit
from rejuvenation include forsythia, honeysuckle, spirea,
viburnum, weigela and other fast growing types.
These plants, if extensively overgrown, severely weakened or
otherwise unhealthy, can be cut back to the ground but may
not bloom for one or several years, depending on the rate of
regrowth.

Credit for information from the following sources: Denver Botanic Gardens, MSU Extension Office, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension