When is the right time to prune spring-, summer- and fall-flowering shrubs?
Most spring-blooming shrubs should be pruned right after they flower (within two weeks after flowering for shrubs blooming from early spring to early June). These shrubs bear flowers on buds formed the previous season. Waiting to prune them off in late fall or winter will cut off the blossom buds that developed in late summer and fall. Spring-blooming shrubs include: Forsythia, deutzia, dogwood, fringe tree, golden currant, lilac, magnolia, mountain laurel, flowering quince, mock orange, azalea, rhododendron, climbing roses, spring-flowering spirea, snowball and weigela. Summer- and fall-flowering shrubs bloom on current years wood and should be pruned in late winter or early spring while dormant. These include abelia, potentilla, butterfly bush, rose of sharon, crepe myrtle, beautyberry, summersweet and spirea. Avoid pruning in late summer-early fall, since this may force renewed growth that could get damaged or injured through freezing during winter. Evergreen shrubs, like yews and j
