By Ruth S. Foster
March 29,2015; 6:52AM,EDT
Credit: RenovateYourWorld.com
There is a disease that gardeners get in spring. It's called itchy fingers. When the new shoots and thick leafing out makes everything seem overgrown, itchy fingers want to prune it back. However, it's important to know what you're doing and what plants you're pruning.
Pruning is actually a very fine art and quite complicated. Each cut engenders a particular response from each tree or bush. Should it produce flower buds or vigorous new shoots? Will they grow straight up or sideways? How many will sprout and how will they affect the future shape?
A few simple bits of information:
Do not prune spring flowering plants (such as rhododendrons, azaleas, lilacs) until after they flower. Then wait a week or two and prune as desired, before the new flower buds are set for next year.
Late season bloomers (such as hydrangeas, rose of Sharon) can be pruned now, but leave enough good, fat buds for vigorous growth.
Don't severely prune needled evergreens until new little shoots have started - often May in New England. If they are very overgrown, don't prune below green growth. Although many varieties will eventually put out new green shoots, it usually takes at least a year or more from bare wood. In the meantime, it will be awful bare.
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