Those Early Spring Bloomers - Don't Panic About Pruning Them

You may have many early spring bloomers on your property and were told or read somewhere that you must prune (or trim) them just after the blooms die if you are to experience blooms next spring - not true. Nature doesn't work that way.

Many of these guys and girls, who produce blooms from old wood don't begin to do so again for several months after they lose their blooms - they take time to recover. I will display a list of the most common ones in our area in a moment.

The photo you see is that of a bank of azaleas a year after I pruned them, in May. The customer, who is quite a plant person, invited me to her property and I worked on many other plants as well. She originally was going to or wanted to cut back the azaleas, almost to the ground. I advised, "No." Azaleas are cane-growers, but it may have been another two or three years before she enjoyed them again, as the shrubs they could be. We avoided that, I pruned them and she won an award from her garden club for these, within a year. Please see https://shootsandmatters.blogspot.com/2018/07/beauty-year-later.html.

There are many early-spring bloomers which can be pruned in a variety of ways without cutting them back to the ground and some that shouldn't be unless you simply want to wait another couple of years to wait to enjoy them on your property. Some can endure such cut-back, but this may depend upon the space they occupy and where on your property. There are no hard-fast rules, so let go of those rules. Plant physiology makes the rules - you and I don't.

Trimming is trimming and I love it for many plants, and love doing it, but trimming rarely has anything to do with the health of a plant and its future appeal. Proper pruning makes a world of difference.

Pruning is what I enjoy the most and where I spend most of my time. Beyond the basic nutrients and soil and other conditions in which your plants live, pruning is the next most important aspect in regard to their health and most important, to their future growth and aesthetics.

Please call me at 803-553-5757 for any assistance. 

Here is a list of some of the Early Spring Bloomers which may need to be pruned after blooming, but don't fret. Most will be okay to prune over the next few months.

Azalea - Evergreen
Azalea - Deciduous
Beautybush
Bridal Wreath
Camellia - Sasanqua
Camellia - Japanese
Daphne - Winter
Forsythia
Indian Hawthorne - if not dying from entomosporium
Lilac
Mockorange
Mountain Laurel
Osmanthus (Sweet or Tea Olive)
Pyracantha
Quince
Rhododendrum
Spirea - Spring-blooming
Vibernum - Deciduous and Evergreen
Witchhazel