Pruning blueberries is typically done in the winter when the plants are dormant. It is a bit of a balancing act. Prune too much and you get lots of new growth and very large berries but not very many of them. Prune too little and you get dense twiggy bushes with almost no new growth. This twiggy growth is weak, produces small berries, and no new wood for future crops.

Blueberries are ideally pruned every single year.

You want to encourage the plant to produce a moderate amount of new growth every season which will result in consistent future production. Many times, blueberries are pruned infrequently and are pruned hard every few years. This is undesirable.

If you prune your bushes hard, they will produce a lot of new growth which is great, except that all that new growth is the same age and will get old at the same time. The result is that you get very inconsistent production. Pruning in a way that causes the production of tons of new growth creates a temporary fruit slump the following season. Then the canes all come into peak production and get old at the same time. Removing all these canes when they get old and unproductive would result in practically cutting the bush to the ground. Obviously not ideal.

So how do we prune blueberries for optimum consistent production?

Start by removing anything dead, damaged, or that is too low and going to be laying on the ground when carrying fruit. Once you have done that, remove weak spindly growth from the base. These are often shoots that sprouted in late summer. Also remove old, unproductive canes. These are the canes that have little to no new growth on them. They are often very twiggy.

If necessary, thin the canopy to allow airflow and light inside. If your plant tends to overbear fruit resulting in small berries, you can also thin some of the small fruiting branches that are loaded with buds. This will encourage the bush to put more energy into producing larger fruit.

Lastly, if your bush has enough shoots and you prune yearly, remove the 2 oldest, least productive canes. If you strive to have a bush with 8-10 canes and you remove the oldest two every year, you completely rejuvenate your bush every 8-10 years. This helps keep your blueberry bush young and productive.

What if your bush is old and does not have any new growth?

On old, neglected bushes, you should cut about 1/3 of the oldest canes down to the ground. This will encourage the plant to send up new shoots in the spring. Next fall you can remove more of the older canes resulting in a rejuvenated bush in a few years’ time. Simple as that!

Blueberries really are one of the quickest, easiest things to grow and prune on our farm. So if you’re like most people who have never pruned their blueberry bushes, we encourage you to go out and give it a try this winter! You will likely be rewarded with the delicious results for many years to come.

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The information provided is for general informational purposes only. All information on the site is provided in good faith, for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. We make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of any information on this Site. Accordingly, before taking any actions based upon such information, we encourage you to consult with the appropriate professionals. We do not provide any kind of professional advice. THE USE OR RELIANCE OF ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE SITE IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. View full disclaimer here.

The post How To Prune Blueberry Bushes first appeared on Snowdrop Farm.

Just like with anything else we have pruned, it is important to take a moment to understand where apple trees fruit before we get started. As we have mentioned before, this is the underlying ‘how and when’ to prune guide. Apple trees fruit on old wood. They produce little, short branches called spurs that produce fruit. They are typically pruned during the winter when they are dormant like most deciduous plants.

For maximum production, apple trees are typically trained into a single leader conical shape.

If you want a rounder more ornamental shape, they can be trained that way as well. The same basic pruning principals still apply. When pruning apple trees, you want to try to prune as minimally as possible. The more pruning you do, the more pruning you will have to do in the future.

When you are pruning trees of any kind, you want to remove branches down to the branch collar, but not below it. This is where the tree will heal over the cut from most quickly. If you prune below the branch collar or leave a stub it takes the tree longer to close over the cut making it more likely for rot to set in. This is particularly true if you remove large branches.

Let’s get started!

The first thing you want to do is remove any dead, damaged or diseased wood. Next, remove branches that are crossing over or rubbing on each other, and branches growing downward. Then, thin branches that are growing too close to each other. When thinning branches you want to remove one of the branches all the way down to its base. Ideally when pruning apples you want to remove whole branches instead of making cuts partway up if possible.

Next you want to remove any branches that are bigger than the trunk, this is particularly true of young trees. If you don’t remove these branches they will potentially become the dominant shoot instead of your trunk which can result in a weak, misshapen tree.

You also want to remove all the water sprouts—vigorous vertical branches. Young trees might not have any. Older trees, particularly those with very horizontally oriented branches may have a lot. These shoots are pretty obvious. They grow straight up, and may be 4-6’ long, and all this year’s growth.

If you are pruning an older overgrown tree, or one that has been neglected removing the water sprouts may not be enough. You may need to thin your tree. To do this start by removing small weak shoots followed by those in areas where growth is particularly heavy. Your goal is to promote light and airflow as that is what your fruit needs to ripen properly. Lastly, you want to remove any suckers at the base of the tree.

If you are pruning a young tree to a central leader shape, your goal is to create 1 central shoot with scaffold branches every 12” or so.

As you are training your young tree, choose a leader shoot every year, and 3-5 side branches in a whorl. Remove everything else. To encourage your young tree to produce the desired side shoots you can top your central leader above where you wish to produce a new layer of branches. Cutting off the tip of the shoot will cause nearby buds to sprout. Once they have sprouted you can select a new leader and your side branches.

If you are growing your tree in a central leader style, you want to keep your upper branches shorter than your lower branches so that your tree maintains a pyramidal shape. This is to keep the upper branches from shading out the lower branches.

If your tree’s branches are growing too vertical, you can use spreaders or weights to encourage the tree to produce wide branch angles. An angle of about 60 degree is strongest. More horizontal branches will produce more fruit than vertical growing branches. Some cultivars naturally grow nice wide branches, some need help to attain that shape. If you take the time to train a young tree into an ideal shape, it will be easiest to maintain throughout its life.

We hope this helps you grow pretty and productive apple trees! If you would like to read more articles like this one, please sign up for our newsletter!

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The information provided is for general informational purposes only. All information on the site is provided in good faith, for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. We make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of any information on this Site. Accordingly, before taking any actions based upon such information, we encourage you to consult with the appropriate professionals. We do not provide any kind of professional advice. THE USE OR RELIANCE OF ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE SITE IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. View full disclaimer here.

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Kiwis are a little bit more confusing to prune than some plants. Fortunately, they are vigorous and grow so rapidly, they are very forgiving. If you screw up and prune them wrong, you might get less/no fruit this year, but by next year no one will ever know.

Exactly how you prune your kiwis is going to vary a little bit depending on what kind of trellis you have them growing on, however the same principles apply regardless. Both hardy kiwis and fuzzy kiwis are pruned similarly. They both fruit on the same kind of wood.

As we have mentioned before, knowing what wood your plant fruits or flowers on is critical to both knowing when and how to prune.

A lot of plants fruit on either new wood, or old wood. Not both. New wood is defined as wood that grew this season. Old wood is wood that grew last season or before. Kiwis can’t make things that easy for us. They flower on new wood. But only new wood that is growing off of 1 year old wood. So, shoots that grew last summer are going to produce the shoots that flower the coming spring. Shoots that grew 2 summers ago will not grow fruit on the new wood that sprouts.

Another caveat to pruning kiwis is that you prune male and female kiwis differently. You also prune them at different times of year. Female kiwis are pruned in the winter. Male kiwis are ideally pruned in the spring immediately after flowering. Additionally, you lightly prune both sexes in the opposite seasons.

Note: If you don’t have fruit and don’t know what your kiwi vine genders are, you need to look at the flowers when they are blooming. Males and females have very distinctly different looking blooms and are easy to tell apart. Males have a large cluster of stamens only. Female flowers have a pistil and possibly a few stamens. If you don’t have fruit and don’t know what your kiwi vine genders are, you need to look at the flowers when they are blooming. Males and females have very distinctly different looking blooms. Males have a large cluster of stamens. Female flowers have a pistil and a few stamens surrounding it.

Since male kiwis are a little bit more straightforward to prune, let’s start with them.

Later, we can apply the same principals to pruning our female kiwis. Typically, kiwis are trained to some kind of horizontal cordon similar to grapes. There is one main shoot going up to the top of the trellis, or in our case pergola, and a couple branches that are your permanent structure. We aren’t going to go over how to train this structure here, but if you are unfamiliar with how to do so, please refer to the years 1 and 2 sections of our grape pruning article.

Male kiwis are mainly pruned in the spring/early summer. After the male has finish blooming, we want to remove all of the wood that flowered back to our main cordons. Leave stubs so that there are buds to sprout new growth from. Over the summer your male kiwi will produce tons of new growth from these buds. Yes, it might seem scary to remove essentially all growth from your plant, but kiwi vines are very vigorous and it will grow back with a vengeance.

Over the winter just lightly prune your male to remove very twisted or wild shoots. In the winter you want to leave as much growth as possible to maximize your pollination potential. Pruning your male kiwi this way and at this time will maximize the number of flowers and minimize the weight and space the male takes up.

Your female kiwis are mainly pruned during the winter after the fruit has been harvested.

Start by removing anything that is twisted around itself or other vines. Then you want to thin out your vines. The goal is to remove old wood, but you need to leave enough 1 year old wood to get fruit. Ideally you will have new shoots growing off the main cordons or near the main cordons. If that is the case, leave that shoot and remove the wood past it. If you do not have enough shoots like that, thin your shoots that fruited this year and leave them. Plan to thin/remove them the following year.

After your kiwi has flowered and set fruits, you can trim the fruiting shoots a few buds past the fruit. This will encourage your shoots to send out side shoots rather than continuing to grow the fruiting shoot. This is what you want as those side shoots are the ones you want to retain for next year. Taking a few minutes to do this at the same time you prune your male kiwi should make your winter pruning easier.

When pruning kiwis you will be removing the majority of the wood.

It may seem like a lot, but that is what you want to do. If you leave tons of excess shoots your vine will put more effort into growing leaves and shoots and less effort into producing flowers and fruit. There is no sense in keeping old wood that will never fruit again. Removing it will allow you to maximize the amount of fruiting wood present.

Hopefully this helps to take some of the mystery out of pruning your kiwis. Don’t worry if you don’t get it exactly right the first time. Vines are extremely forgiving. Observe the results of your pruning, learn and modify as needed next season.

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The information provided is for general informational purposes only. All information on the site is provided in good faith, for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. We make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of any information on this Site. Accordingly, before taking any actions based upon such information, we encourage you to consult with the appropriate professionals. We do not provide any kind of professional advice. THE USE OR RELIANCE OF ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE SITE IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. View full disclaimer here.

The post How To Prune Kiwi Vines first appeared on Snowdrop Farm.

The first thing that is important to know is that brambles, which are perennials, produce biennial canes. This means their above ground portion lives for only 2 years. Most brambles produce canes one year, set fruit on those canes the following year, and then they die. So we need to keep this in mind as we are pruning. One year old canes are called primocanes, two year old canes are called floricanes.

Brambles do best in beds where their outward spread can be contained by mowing or edging. Additionally, most do best with a trellis to help support them. This is particularly true of black berries and black raspberries. If you do not contain them, they will quickly create a briar patch that is difficult or impossible to prune and pick.

Let’s start with red raspberries.

Red raspberries are very straightforward to prune once you know what kind you have. Red raspberries are split into what are called primocane and floricane varieties. Primocane varieties produce a large fall crop on the current season’s growth. They will produce a smaller floricane crop on the 2^nd year canes if allowed to. Floricane varieties only produce fruit on the second year canes.

If you do not know what type of raspberries you have, there are a couple ways you can make this determination. Firstly, your primocane varieties are mostly the fall raspberries; whereas floricane varieties are the summer varieties. You can also observe your plants this season to see whether this year’s canes set fruit or not. If you are still in doubt you can cut your plants to the ground and see if they produce fruit the following season. If they do they are a primocane variety.

Because primocane varieties produce their large crop on 1 year wood, they are easiest managed by simply mowing them to the ground during the winter. If you wish to harvest a floricane crop from them you will need to manage them like floricane varieties. Most people don’t bother though. Floricane varieties will produce a better summer crop.

Floricane varieties are the summer bearing raspberry varieties.

These plants do not produce fruit until the cane’s second season. Thus, you cannot mow them down in the fall. To prune these berries you must go through and remove all the dead canes by hand. In the winter use pruners to selectively trim the canes that have previously fruited down to the ground. Once you have done that you can thin out any damaged, spindly or overly densely spaced canes.

When you are done pruning, you should have good spacing between your remaining canes. This will allow airflow, provide space for the new canes to grow up, and make it possible for you to find the fruit to pick. If you have a very dense overgrown raspberry patch that hasn’t been cared for in many years, you are probably best off to mow the patch to the ground. Then start pruning them yearly when they regrow.

Blackberries and black raspberries are a bit more difficult to prune.

Unlike red raspberries, black berries and black raspberries grow very tall, long, floppy canes that tip root. Therefore, trellising is particularly important for these varieties. You can see an example of an easy, inexpensive trellis in the photo below. It is simply T-posts on the corners with several strands of flexible wire strung between them to hold the vines upright.

Blackberries and black raspberries are more clump forming in growth habit than red raspberries and benefit from some summer pruning. There are very few primocane varieties, so you will almost always have to manage them as floricanes.

The principle of pruning these varieties is the same as floricane red raspberries. In the winter you want to go through and trim out all the old dead wood that has fruited. And again you want to thin out any weak or damaged, or overly dense growth. You only want to leave canes that are going to produce quality fruit. Get rid of any that won’t, and make way for the new canes to grow.

Where pruning blackberries deviates from red raspberries is that their canes also need top pruning.

Ideally, you start this process in the summer. Otherwise you will have a giant mess of new tip rooted plants all over your yard. During the summer months top your new blackberry canes at a reasonable height. We usually try to do so at about 4’ high. Ideal height for you will depend on your trellis. The topped canes will produce side shoots. You can top these side shoots also if needed to keep them from drooping down and touching the ground. Doing this will help keep the plants more manageable and will help maximize your fruit production.

In the winter while you are pruning you want to do the same thing. Tip back all the side shoots to about 6-8” from the main stem. These side shoots are where the fruiting shoots will sprout. You want to leave several buds to grow fruiting shoots, but not so many that they are weak and likely to break.

Following these guidelines you should be able to keep your brambles manageable, productive and easy to pick.

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The information provided is for general informational purposes only. All information on the site is provided in good faith, for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. We make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of any information on this Site. Accordingly, before taking any actions based upon such information, we encourage you to consult with the appropriate professionals. We do not provide any kind of professional advice. THE USE OR RELIANCE OF ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE SITE IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. View full disclaimer here.

The post How To Prune Brambles–Your Blackberries and Raspberries first appeared on Snowdrop Farm.

Now, if you are standing in front of a tangled mass of grapevines, the idea of pruning them might seem intimidating for both new and seasoned gardener alike. Fortunately, pruning grapevines is actually quite easy, and you only have to do it once a year. Grapevines are an excellent first plant to learn pruning on.

Grapevines are vigorous, and very forgiving. Even if you make a mistake this year, the plant will give you the chance to fix your mistake the following year. Every year they put out vigorous new growth, and when you prune them you will remove most of it. The biggest mistake people make pruning grapevines is actually not removing enough wood.

A little secret to remove the mystery of pruning

Before we get started on the specifics of pruning, we have a little secret to share that will take the mystery out of pruning most plants. If you take the time to observe and understand what type of wood a plant flowers/fruits on, it will give you a good indication of how and when you should prune.

Aside from creating proper structure or desired shape, understanding this variable is the key to pruning most ornamental and fruiting plants. This understanding is the key that unravels the mystery of pruning and becomes your blueprint to follow. Pruning will seem a lot less abstract and intimidating if you understand this.

Some plants flower on new wood, and some plants flower on old wood. If we remove the wrong type of wood, we will get no flowers or fruit.

What do we mean when we say ‘type of wood a plant flowers on’?

New wood is defined as this year’s growth, as in the growth that will happen once the plant starts growing in the spring. Old wood is defined as last year, and previous years wood. Last year’s wood is 1 year old wood. The wood from the previous season is 2-year old wood, etc.

If you are unsure what wood your plant flowers on, pay attention when they are flowering, or look for remnants of old flowers/fruit during the winter. Some plants are very obvious and straightforward. Others, like kiwis, can be tricky. Kiwi’s for example, happen to flower on new wood with the caveat that it is only new wood growing off of 1 year old wood.

Where and when the flowers are formed is the main underlying guidance on not only how but also when a plant should be pruned. Plants that flower on new wood including grapes and most deciduous flowering shrubs flower should be pruned in the winter/early spring. This promotes the maximum amount of flowers as your pruning stimulates the plant to produce a lot of new growth.

Plants that flower on old wood, such as azaleas or forsythia, should be pruned during the summer after they have flowered. This way they have time to put on new growth and set their buds. These plants typically go into the dormant season with their flower buds already made. If you prune them in the winter you remove all their flower buds for the year.

Grapevines flower and fruit on new wood.

In the case of grapes, they fruit on new wood. Canes that grew last year will not fruit this year or ever again. This is our guiding principal when deciding what wood to remove and what to keep on a grapevine. Anything that we don’t need for structural purposes needs to go. Otherwise this old wood is just wasting the plant’s energy by drawing nutrients away from the canes that produce your crop. This reduces your potential crop.

Since grapes flower on new wood, we prune them late winter/early spring while the plant is still dormant and before they start growing. We do not want the branches we will be removing to flush out in the spring. Removing them after they leaf out wastes the plant’s energy that could be going to producing productive fruiting wood.

Grapes need a trellis to be productive

You have several different options for trellising grapes. The simplest trellis to install and train vines on is a simple single wire trellis. This is the method used by most commercial vineyards and is the trellis design we will be using for this tutorial. It is simply two (or more) braced posts with a wire strung between them. This trellis system makes pruning a breeze. They are also easy to mow around and maintain. Plus, with even the most basic DIY skills you can inexpensively construct one yourself.

You can also grow grapevines on other support structures such as pergolas or arbors using the same principals described here. The main difference is that the vines will grow flat across the top of the pergola rather than draping down towards the ground like a curtain.

Year 1 your purpose is to select a nice straight, sturdy trunk.

If you just purchased a bare root grapevine to plant, most likely the nursery will have trimmed it to a stick approximately 1 foot tall. When the plant starts actively growing in the spring select the best shoot and remove all the other shoots. Tie the chosen shoot to a stake, pergola post or trellis. The idea here is to get that one strong shoot to grow straight up to the top of your trellis. This will be your grapevine’s permanent trunk, so try to pick a good sturdy shoot growing in the desired direction.

Now, if you purchased a potted grapevine, you will likely have an unruly cluster of shoots to work with. In this case, it will be your job to trim the plant back to a single shoot with several buds. Grapevine buds are quite easy to see, so this task is not difficult.

It is best to do this pruning after the severe winter weather is past as grapes can sometimes get cold damage. Waiting will allow you to select a live healthy shoot to keep whereas if you prune too early you risk the one shoot you saved dying back. Once the vine starts growing you repeat the same process of selecting and training the best shoot and removing all others.

Year 2 your purpose is to develop straight, sturdy permanent cordons

At this point you will hopefully have a big long shoot all the way to the top of your trellis. If your vine has reached the top of the trellis, you will top the vine to encourage it to grow lateral shoots. If the vine has just barely reached the top of the trellis, trim it to have as many buds as possible above the wire. If it has gone far past the top of the wire, trim it down to 4-5 buds. Lay this short piece of vine over and secure it to the trellis.

If your vine grew vigorously enough to produce side shoots at wire height, you can select two of the best side shoots to tie to your wire. Then, trim the top off the vine just above those shoots. Trim the side shoots you selected back to a few buds. Remove all other side shoots. If there are no suitable, strong side shoots, remove all the side shoots and then trim the top to 4-5 buds and secure it to the wire.

If your grapevine did not reach the top of your trellis you will need to repeat the year 1 pruning process. Trim the vine back to a short stub with several buds. This year the vine should have a larger more established roots system and should reach the top of the trellis.

During the summer of year two you should select the best side shoots near your trellis wire and train the vines along the wires. Once they reach the end of your trellis, you can trim off the ends.

Year 3 and beyond you’re pruning for fruiting wood

By year 3 (or 4 if you had to repeat year 1), you should have your horizontal cordons established. The goal from this point forward is to encourage new fruiting wood to grow off these cordons.

Trim back all the side shoots from your trunk, and all the shoots from your cordons back to near the stem. Be sure to leave a short stub with a few buds on it. These buds are what will grow the shoots for this year’s fruit.

You will repeat this process of trimming off all the side shoots back to short stubs every year from year 3 forward. You can also thin out any weak or overcrowded branch clusters. If after several years one of your stubs gets too long and unmanageable, simple trim it off back to a bud near the stem and allow a new stub to form.

Remember, grape vines only fruit on new wood. Canes that fruited last year will never fruit again, so we want to remove them. If you allow them to stay your plant will become unruly, unsightly, and will produce less, smaller fruit.

Alternative technique that works better under some conditions

Some grape varieties do not fruit well when cordon pruned and perform better when cane pruned. Some cooler climates may also lend themselves better to cane pruning. If that is the case for you, you can trim your vines slightly differently than we described above. This method is almost as simple. It just requires a bit extra work because you create new cordons every year.

In a cane pruning scenario you would create a permanent trunk up to your trellis wire the same way we described earlier. Then rather than creating permanent cordons, each spring when pruning, you would select the best 2-4 shoots growing from the top of the trunk. Trim them to 8-10 buds long (typically a few feet) and tie them out onto your wires. Try to choose vines that are medium thickness with lots of buds close together. Avoid spindly ones, and also avoid very large shoots with widely spaced buds.

It is also important to leave a short cane or two cut down to two buds right at the top of the trunk. This cane is what will grow the new cordons for next season. Next year, you remove your cordons that fruited back to the trunk and replace them with the new ones produced by your short cane pieces.

If you aren’t sure which pruning method to use. Try one, and see if you like it. The beauty of grapes is that they are so forgiving, and you can always change your mind next year.

We hope that this gives you the tools you need to successfully prune a grapevine into a productive, and attractive addition to your garden.

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Please remember

The information provided is for general informational purposes only. All information on the site is provided in good faith, for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. We make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of any information on this Site. Accordingly, before taking any actions based upon such information, we encourage you to consult with the appropriate professionals. We do not provide any kind of professional advice. THE USE OR RELIANCE OF ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE SITE IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. View full disclaimer here.

The post How To Prune Grapevines From Planting To Maturity first appeared on Snowdrop Farm.

Done properly, rejuvenation pruning will make your deciduous shrub look like an new shrub when it regrows. So before you pay to replace the shrub, try giving it a rejuvenation pruning. Though this method of pruning is a simple process there are some important things we need to discuss before you give it a try.

Why should I rejuvenation prune?

You should consider rejuvenation pruning any healthy shrub that has been improperly pruned, looks overgrown or has overgrown its available space. Additional good candidates are shrubs that have developed an ugly shape, bare sections, are overly thick from being sheared or are full of dead branches. Some deciduous shrubs that have stopped flowering well should also be considered, though the lack of flowering is likely due to one of the previously listed reasons.

Basically, if you have a deciduous shrub that is not providing the visual appeal you want, rejuvenation prune it. It is worth trying this before you dig out and replace the shrub. You might be surprised at how nice that hideous weigelia or ninebark looks the following year.

After rejuvenation pruning you are essentially starting over with a new young shrub. You will benefit from a smaller, more compact shrub that will flower more profusely and grow in a nice uniform round shape. On shrubs valued for their colored bark such as dogwoods and basket willow, you will be rewarded with a flush of new brightly colored growth. If you rejuvenation pruned chronically sheared shrubs, your ‘new’ shrub will be much easier to thin and maintain properly after rejuvenation.

What shrubs can I rejuvenation prune?

Plants that respond well to rejuvenation pruning are mainly deciduous ones that produce lots of vigorous new growth every year. They are also the ones that send out lots of new branches from near their base or that sucker from the ground. To give you an idea of the kinds of plants we are talking about imagine ones that are similar to things like lilacs, hydrangeas, butterfly bushes, deutzia, red-twig dogwoods and rose bushes.

The reason that deciduous shrubs respond best to this kind of pruning is because they go dormant in the winter. During the winter they take all their nutrients and store them down in their roots. If you remove top growth before they start growing in the spring, they have all the stored energy available to produce new top growth to replace what you removed.

While we do not have space to create an exhaustive list in this article, at the end of the article is a list of many of the more common shrubs that respond well to rejuvenation pruning. If your shrub is not on the list and you are unsure if it is a good candidate, a quick internet search should tell you.

Before you get out your loppers and go crazy chopping up shrubs

It is important to understand that not all shrubs should be rejuvenation pruned. The vast majority of deciduous shrubs will respond well to rejuvenation pruning. There are also a few evergreens that can also benefit. However, many evergreen shrubs will be killed by being trimmed this way.

As a general rule there are a few different groups of plants that you should avoid rejuvenation pruning.

1. Most evergreen shrubs. This includes anything with needles, little leaf hollies, boxwoods, and other similar shrubs. You will likely kill these kinds of plants by removing all their leaves.
2. Sick or otherwise unhealthy plants. Even deciduous plants that would normally respond well to rejuvenation pruning can be killed by it if they are unhealthy to start with. Either get them healthy first, or consider replacing the shrub rather than rejuvenating it.
3. Shrubs with a single main stem (like small trees). With those you need to prune a little differently, and should not trim back as far. You need to leave the main stem and a cluster of branches on top of it.
4. Grafted plants. With grafted plants, you need to make sure that if you do not cut back to below the graft or you will get rootstock regrowth rather than the desired variety. Most ornamental shrubs are not grafted, however this can be an issue with plants like hybrid roses.

Timing is important!

If you are considering rejuvenation pruning a shrub, it is very important to do so at the right time. Rejuvenation pruning needs to be done in the winter or early spring while the shrub is still completely dormant. If it is done during the growing season, it may kill your shrub.

It is important to keep in mind that you should only rejuvenation prune periodically. While deciduous shrubs respond well to being pruned severely, doing so too frequently may weaken and kill the shrub over time. For most plants, it is best to rejuvenation prune only every 3-5 years. Between these years, you can thin the shrub by removing 1/3 of the oldest and largest branches each year. This yearly thinning will help to keep your plant young and small, and may completely eliminate the need to rejuvenate a shrub.

Lastly, depending on whether a particular plant blooms on new wood or old wood, you may sacrifice a year of flowering. Plants such as azaleas that bloom on old wood will not flower the year you rejuvenate them. They will however put on a spectacular display the following season.

How to rejuvenation prune

Rejuvenation pruning is a very severe pruning tactic used mainly on deciduous shrubs. The ‘How To’ of rejuvenation pruning is actually ridiculously easy. To rejuvenation prune, you simply cut the whole shrub down to stubs that are between 6” and a couple feet tall. Leave long enough stubs to allow the plant to re-sprout new branches. Thin out any old or unhealthy shoots as you are doing this. That’s it.

When you have finished pruning, it may look like you have completely butchered your shrub, and like it is probably dead. It can be really scary to do the first time! However, when done to a suitable, healthy shrub, you will be rewarded in the spring by vigorous, healthy new growth.

List of some common plants suitable for rejuvenation pruning

• Abelia
• Azalea
• Barberry
• Beautyberry
• Burning Bush
• Spirea
• Chasetree
• Cinquefoil
• Deutzia
• Elderberry
• Flowering Quince
• Forsythia
• Honeysuckle
• Hydrangea
• Lilac
• Mockorange
• Nandina
• Ninebark
• Privet
• Shrub Roses
• Rose of Sharon
• Dogwood Shrubs
• Viburnum
• Weigela
• Willow

Evergreen shrubs that can be rejuvenated

• Azalea
• Camellia
• Cherry Laurel
• Holly (large leaf varieties like Nellie Stevens, NOT little leaf varieties)

We hope this has inspired you to rejuvenation prune some of the less visually appealing shrubs in your yard this winter!

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Please remember

The information provided is for general informational purposes only. All information on the site is provided in good faith, for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. We make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of any information on this Site. Accordingly, before taking any actions based upon such information, we encourage you to consult with the appropriate professionals. We do not provide any kind of professional advice. THE USE OR RELIANCE OF ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE SITE IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. View full disclaimer here.

The post How To Rejuvenation Prune Overgrown Shrubs first appeared on Snowdrop Farm.

Hydrangea paniculata is an extremely common landscape plant, and for good reason. It has beautiful summer blooms that remain on the plant all winter giving it an extended season of interest. It is also sun loving, cold hardy and extremely easy to grow.

As you might also now know, it is not only beautiful. It is capable of growing to massive dimensions if left to its own devices. It is not uncommon to see old Hydrangea paniculatas that are as large as a small tree. While these plants are spectacular to see, realistically most people do not have a 20’ space in their back yard garden to devote to 1 plant.

Fortunately, if you start pruning them while they are young, they are fairly easy to keep to manageable dimensions. Even if you have a massively overgrown Hydrangea paniculata, it can easily be pruned back to a more manageable size.

Hydrangeas respond very well to pruning, and winter is the best time to prune your hydrangea. So grab your pruning shears, and join us in the garden.

Don’t be afraid to prune your overgrown plant ruthlessly. If it is a healthy plant, it is very unlikely you will harm it. Also, don’t be too worried about screwing up. Hydrangeas are extremely forgiving. If you don’t like how it turned out this year, consider it a learning experience and try again next winter.

Please Note:
There are several different kinds of hydrangeas, and they are not all pruned the same way.

If you do not know which type of hydrangea you have, it is very easy to tell the 4 commonly planted kinds apart. The two most commonly planted hydrangeas are mophead hydrangea (H. macrophylla) and panicle hydrangea (H. paniculata). Most likely you have one of these two.

Mopheads, are the ones that typically come in shades of pink and blue, and produce an orb of clustered flowers. They are the color changing hydrangeas like ‘Endless Summer’. These plants grow long generally un-branched, semi-woody stems from a cluster at the ground. Each year new shoots come from the ground.

Panicle hydrangea, the one we are pruning in this article, are a very woody plant. They usually have white more pyramidal shaped flowers. The plant grows from a single trunk coming out of the ground that is highly branched. Panicle hydrangeas include varieties like ‘Limelight’ and ‘Quick Fire®”.

The 2 least common types are always planted in shady locations. Oakleaf hydrangeas (H. quercifolia) have leaves shaped like large oak leaves. Snowball hydrangeas (H. arborescens), like ‘Annabelle’ or ‘Incrediball®’, have semi-woody stems and big round puffy, typically white flowers.

The basics

If you are new to pruning, you should know, that when you cut a branch off a plant, you always want to trim it back to a place just above a bud. This allows the plant to quickly heal over the injury you created by pruning.

Buds are easy to find on most plants. In the case of H. paniculata the branches usually have 2 or 3 buds opposite each other about every 6”. Unless you wish to increase the size of your plant, we will be pruning every single branch back to 1 bud above last year’s growth as shown in the above picture.

If you are dealing with very old wood, buds may be difficult or impossible to find. In that case just do your best. Next year you can clean up your cuts and will be able to clearly see the buds on the new growth for pruning.

No hedge shears please!

It is also always best to hand prune deciduous shrubs rather than shearing them with hedge trimmers. Why? They are not a hedge. Hedge trimmers cause the outer shell of leaves to get thicker and thicker every year. While this works with your hedges, on a hydrangea this tends to leave you with ugly plants that have bare spots on them. Additionally, they are often more prone to disease and pest problems too.

Deciduous plants grow vigorously, and benefit from being thinned yearly. By properly hand trimming them you will ensure that your plant stays healthy, and looking nice. It will also ensure that you get those big beautiful blooms you are looking for.

If you have a shrub that has been sheared

If you have a shrub that has been sheared for several years, the first thing that you want to do is trim off that outer shell of matted branches. You must undo the damage that years of shearing has done to your plant. The goal is to get rid of all the weak branches and those growing the wrong directions. After you have done that, go through and thin other branches as needed to create a uniform shaped plant that is open enough to allow air flow.

Remember every time you cut a branch, it is going to produce 2-3 more branches from the buds nearest to where you cut it. Thin the plant enough that there is space for each of these new branches to grow. For example, in the above picture, the best course of action would be to cut this messy branch back to a stub that has no side shoots. This plant has no shortage of branches, and removing the messy knot now will allow us to have nice easy pruning in future years.

After this first year, where you must undo the damage done by shearing, pruning will be easier.

In subsequent years, find the place where you pruned the shrub to last year. Prune each branch off above the 1^st bud. (refer back to Figure 2 if necessary). This might mean that you are removing several feet of stem. This is ok. That 4’ of stem grew this year. If you don’t remove it the plant will put on another 4’ of growth on top of that next year. Trimming the plant back significantly in the winter keep it sturdy, and helps keep it to a similar size year to year.

Now, if you just prune off to the first bud on every branch every year, you are essentially doing the same thing that hedge shears are doing. So as you are pruning back, you also need to be thinning your shrub.

How do we do this?

Easily. Similarly to how we first trimmed off the branch ‘shell’ that hedge shears made. Every year remove some of the branch knots you have created by pruning. You do not have to remove every single one every year. Just remove the most gnarly 25% or so. This will allow you to keep the shrub open. Also by limiting the number of branches, you are ensuring that you will maximize the size of your blooms.

Plant still to big?

If the shrub out grows its space despite your winter pruning, you can prune it again after it has put out its initial flush of growth in the spring. If you prune off half of the new growth, and allow the plant to flush again it will be smaller for the remaining portion of the season. The plant has put most of its energy into the spring growth, so growth after summer pruning will be less vigorous.

If you prune your hydrangeas back before they bloom, keep in mind that this will delay flowering. An alternative option is to wait until after they have flowered and then trim them back. In areas with longer growing seasons, the plants will often stay smaller and re-bloom if trimmed after flowering.

On a plant that you have hand pruned and thinned in the winter, summer pruning is quick and easy. This is because you have a relatively small number of large, straight stems that can quickly be cut in half. You can see an example of how few stems you would need to prune, and how easy it would be to summer prune the un-pruned plant in the first picture (Figure 1).

What if I have a massively overgrown shrub?

If you have a badly overgrown shrub, you may need to get out loppers or even a pruning saw. You will need to trim the shrub back to a size which you deem to be appropriate. Keep in mind that it will grow back vigorously after pruning, so trim it smaller than you want its mature size to be.

Simply cut back the branches to stubs of your desired height. This is very similar to/essentially the same as the pruning technique called ‘rejuvenation pruning’. When done with this your shrub might consist of something like 6 stubs that are 3’ tall.

At this point, you might be panicking at just the thought of doing this.

Rest assured, you are not alone. The thought of pruning a shrub so harshly is paralyzing to many gardeners. However, hydrangeas and many other deciduous shrubs actually benefit from this type of pruning. They typically grow back better than ever if rejuvenated occasionally.

In the spring your stubs will flush out with tons of new branches from dormant buds.

That first summer you most likely will not need to do anything to the plant except enjoy it. Come winter though, you will likely need to do some thinning.

To thin your ‘new’ shrub, you will follow a similar method as we first discussed. Only this time you will not have knots of old growth yet.

Go through and remove all the excess branches. Start by removing the thin, weak ones, and the ones growing at odd angles or in terrible directions. If you have stubs that didn’t grow, or that grew branches from the base instead of the top, remove the excess stub. Then thin the remaining branches to be evenly spaced. Select sturdy, well attached branches that will create a solid structure for your new shrub. Try to create something that will look similar to the above picture in a few years.

After the first year’s severe cutback and thinning, you can resume pruning your shrub using the techniques we discussed above for pruning non-overgrown shrubs. Harsh rejuvenation type pruning is not something that should be performed frequently, but it can be done periodically if needed.

We hope this gives you the courage you need to tackle pruning that overgrown hydrangea threatening to eat your garage!

If you would like more pruning tips, don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter.

Please remember

The information provided is for general informational purposes only. All information on the site is provided in good faith, for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. We make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of any information on this Site. Accordingly, before taking any actions based upon such information, we encourage you to consult with the appropriate professionals. We do not provide any kind of professional advice. THE USE OR RELIANCE OF ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE SITE IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. View full disclaimer here.

The post How To Prune A Hydrangea Paniculata first appeared on Snowdrop Farm.