This text is part of the special book Plaisirs
Ah! the famous spring cleaning… With the arrival of the warm season comes this sudden desire to put everything in order. Be careful, when talking about plants, it is better to avoid taking out the secateurs too quickly! Before tackling the flowerbeds, take the time to plan your work. Here are some tips for getting there.
Why prune plants? Like a good haircut, pruning shrubs helps maintain the style and shape you desire, while eliminating broken and misplaced branches. In the flowerbeds, a few strokes of the secateurs eliminate the faded flowers which give a scruffy appearance. However, everything has its right moment. It is therefore essential to choose the right time to prune according to the shrubs.
To be pruned in the spring
Before their leaves appear, shrubs that flower from July can be pruned. Here is a non-exhaustive list :
• Potentillas
• Roses
• Panicled and tree hydrangeas
• Charcoals
• Clethra
• Spireas with pink flowers (“Anthony Waterer”, “Goldflame”, etc.)
• Physocarps
You can do this spring pruning every year. After flowering, you only have to iron to remove the faded leaves. You can also fold the branches of the third to remove more. For a more radical pruning at 15 centimeters from the ground, the operation is carried out in autumn, when the leaves change color or fall to the ground. However, some shrubs do not tolerate this more drastic pruning.
Take his troubles patiently
To avoid disturbing the formation of flower buds, early spring flowering shrubs should be pruned only after they have bloomed. For rhododendrons and hydrangeas, simply remove the faded flowers. For other types of shrubs, one third of the branches can be cut. Here are some examples of plants concerned:
• Weigelas
• Large-flowered hydrangeas
• Lilac
• Forsythias
• Spireas with white flowers (“VanHoutte”, Spiraea argued)
• Rhododendrons
And for the facelift?
If you have spring or summer blooming shrubs that need to be rejuvenated, pruning them early in the spring or fall is recommended.
To start the season on the right foot, all you have to do is identify your shrubs and write down the ideal time to prune each of them on a calendar. If you are unsure of a plant’s identification or pruning period, you can show a photo of the plant to an expert at your local garden center.
The case of large-leaved hydrangeas
Although they bloom in summer, bigleaf hydrangeas should not be pruned in fall or spring except to remove dead branches. Indeed, unlike other varieties of hydrangeas, they form their flower buds on the stems of the previous year, and too large a size would prevent them from flowering the following year. So, although you should protect them for the winter, it is better to prune them as little as possible in the fall.
One last pro tip
If you tie up your shrubs in winter, prune the branches before untying them to make your job easier.
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, relating to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.