Fall Pruning and Care Tips for Perennials and Shrubs

Now that the vegetable garden has been put to bed it’s time to turn attention to the rest of the landscape. Thursday’s frost is a signal it’s time to prepare your shrubs and perennials for winter.  

  

Flowering shrubs can be divided into two categories: spring blooming and summer blooming. Spring blooming shrubs such as forsythia, lilac, ninebark and weigela already have this spring's flower buds in place. They're said to bloom on "old wood" because soon after flowering this past season, they began to set the buds for next season's blooms. If you prune these shrubs now, you'll remove most if not all the flower buds. The time to prune ornamental shrubs that flower in spring and early summer, is within a month after they stop blooming.   

  

Summer flowering shrubs such as butterfly bush, blue mist spirea, and hardy hibiscus can be pruned now, because they bloom on next year's growth or "new wood".  

Perennials such as catmint (Nepeta), columbine, daylilies, phlox, peonies, salvia, veronica, and yarrow can be pruned to the ground now. 

An exception would be in the case where perennials are still bloom, like this catmint. These will provide support for late foragers. Prune them last in the garden.  

  

Ornamental grasses can be pruned now, however they will add interest to your winter garden, so you can wait and prune them in early spring before they start to green up.  

  

You can prune roses back to between 24 inches and 30 inches. but avoid severe pruning. We’ll talk more about fall rose care in a future article. 

  

When it comes to trees, it’s better to wait until February or March to do any pruning. At this point in the season, trees focus their energy on their roots, as they prepare for winter. As a result, any pruning cuts made now won’t heal and will add stress to the tree. Better to wait until the tree is dormant to prune. The exception would be any dead, diseased or damaged branches and limbs. Those can and should be removed now.  

  

Fall cleanup can sometimes seem daunting, but with the right information, the job becomes more manageable. If you have questions concerning pruning or general fall prep, don’t hesitate to stop in. We’ll be glad to help you.