Shrubs that flower in spring, such as rhododendrons, should be pruned right after they’re finished blooming. (Getty Images)
If you wait and prune these spring bloomers in the fall or winter, you will cut off all of next year’s flower buds.
As we move through the end of May, it becomes imperative that any pruning (think shaping and also about next year’s flower production) of spring flowering shrubs, like rhododendrons, azaleas, lilacs and forsythias, needs to be done NOW. The rule is simple: “Prune after bloom.”
All plants that bloom before the end of May are blooming from flower buds that were produced the previous season. They are formed on what we often call “old wood,” “one-year-old wood” or simply last year’s growth. So early season bloomers like lilacs or forsythia, and all spring blooming perennials like Candy Tuft, Rock Cress, and Winter Heather, should be pruned once the flowers fade. If you wait and prune these spring bloomers in the fall or winter, you will cut off all the flower buds, and while the plant will be just fine, you won’t get any blooms — which kind of defeats the whole purpose of growing them in the first place.
I guess I should interject at this point that not pruning your spring bloomers is not the end of the world. In the case of shrubs like rhodies and forsythia, they will just keep getting bigger, and depending on where they are growing in the garden, that may be just fine. The problem arises when they get too big and you are forced to shear them, which in the case of a forsythia, can end up looking incredibly hideous. Personally, I enjoy having a few sheared shrubs in my garden, but they are almost always a broadleaf evergreen like a laurel or Japanese holly, and I am not concerned about blooms. I use them in juxtaposition to informal and naturally shaped shrubs that do bloom, and the combination is quite pleasing. Otherwise, creating what I like to call “green meatballs” out of shrubs like forsythia and rhodies (or ice cream cones out of barberries and nandinas) falls into the category of plant abuse, in my opinion.
Most plants don’t need constant pruning. Lilacs, for example, once they are established, should have only one-third of the older stems removed every couple of years. This helps to stimulate the plant to produce new growth. That being said, if you never prune your lilac, it will still continue to bloom, but it may become a weedy mess due to all the suckers it tends to produce. At the minimum, at least keep the suckers thinned out and save a few for replacement wood.
Plants like forsythia can be best managed either by selectively removing older stems after they have bloomed, or by whacking the whole bush down to about 1 foot tall. While this kind of drastic pruning will leave a temporary void in your landscape, it will result in vigorous growth that by the end of summer will fill up the spot with new stems that will bloom from their base all the way to their tips the following spring.
For more information on pruning spring and summer blooming shrubs like roses and the ever-confusing hydrangeas, check out our upcoming classes or go to the “Info Hub” on our Sunnyside Nursery website. Also, some of our growers, like Monrovia Nurseries, have wonderful consumer-oriented information that even a seasoned professional like myself finds useful. Just remember, while there is potential to foul up the bloom cycle of a shrub, you will rarely kill it or cause any permanent damage (other than making it look like hell and being in the dog house with your spouse). Everyone has to start somewhere and it is easier to get the hang of than you think, plus there are always horticulture experts to help you along the way, so give pruning a shot! Stay safe and keep on gardening.
Steve Smith represents Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville, and can be reached at sunnysidenursery@msn.com
Sunnyside’s next free online class will be “Balcony Gardens” at 10 a.m. June 11. For more information, go to www.sunnysidenursery.net/classes. Talk to us You can tell us about news and ask us about our journalism by emailing newstips@heraldnet.com or by calling 425-339-3428. If you have an opinion you wish to share for publication, send a letter to the editor to letters@heraldnet.com or by regular mail to The Daily Herald, Letters, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206. More contact information is here.
The annual show this weekend makes downtown “the place to play on Memorial Day.”
If you wait and prune these spring bloomers in the fall or winter, you will cut off all of next year’s flower buds.
Art Alexakis and Everclear joins fellow 1990s alt-rockers Tonic for a show May 28 in downtown Everett.
A featured exhibit at the show will be a 500-pound Elestial Amethyst specimen from the Bahia Mine in Brazil.
People older than 40 should have a screening colonoscopy to determine whether they have this intestinal condition, which can lead to serious medical problems.
Beginning May 28, you can venture inside one of the state’s oldest buildings: The Jacob and Sarah Ebey House, which dates from the 1850s.
They not only stretch your food budget, but also timesaving godsends for busy parents. Here are three recipes to try.
After helping a friend who underwent major surgery, Paul Schoenfeld reflects on ways to cope for patients and their loved ones.
This reliable and easy to grow small tree is covered with clusters of fringed white flowers in early summer.
The annual show this weekend makes downtown “the place to play on Memorial Day.”
Art Alexakis and Everclear joins fellow 1990s alt-rockers Tonic for a show May 28 in downtown Everett.
If you wait and prune these spring bloomers in the fall or winter, you will cut off all of next year’s flower buds.
A featured exhibit at the show will be a 500-pound Elestial Amethyst specimen from the Bahia Mine in Brazil.
Plus answers to questions about antique samplers, Herman Miller furniture, doorknob collecting and more.
This reliable and easy to grow small tree is covered with clusters of fringed white flowers in early summer.
© 2022, Everett Herald and Sound Publishing, Inc.