It seems like each year as our trees are losing their leaves and the flowers are turning brown, we get asked a lot of questions about whether now is a good time to prune plants. The answer is yes and no… it depends on the plant. But first, why do we prune our plants in the first place.

We prune our plants for a variety of reasons: to train and shape the plant, thinning to allow better air circulation, to get rid of dead branches, to stimulate new growth, or to keep growth aways from our homes or other structures.

Here’s some general rules for pruning.

When pruning, remember to never remove more than about 1/3 of the plant unless of course you are pruning out dead wood. One of the less rewarding aspects of pruning is that if you do it properly, no one will probably even notice. However, you will know, and your plant will probably be grateful in the long run.

Flowering shrubs, trees, and vines typically should not be pruned in the fall and winter because many of these have already set buds for next year’s flowers. A good example of this would be hydrangea (except the Oak Leaf hydrangea). It seems like each spring we get questions from homeowners wanting to know why their hydrangeas are not blooming and our first question is always “did you prune them in the fall or winter?” Since hydrangeas look like a bunch of sticks that need to be cut down, many people do just that. Just know that if you do, you will have to wait a year for flowers. A better plan is to prune your hydrangeas and most other flowering shrubs after they have bloomed in the summer before they set new buds. Other shrubs that fall in this category would include flowering quince, viburnum, wisteria, and forsythia.

There’s another group for summer-flowering varieties like abelian, butterfly bush, and Rose of Sharon which should be pruned in the fall or early spring.

Broadleaf evergreen plants such as camellia, scuba, cherry laurel, boxwood, holly, handing, mahonia, or photinia should be pruned in the spring before new growth begins.

What about pruning trees? For the most part we should leave tree trimming and pruning to the professionals. They have the skills and the experience to know how to trim your trees and your family really doesn’t want to see you high up on a ladder leaning to one side with a running chain saw in your hands. They don’t. You can find a certified arborist by visiting the website treesaregood.org. The is the national database of arborists and Tulsa is fortunate to have several.

While we don’t have time to go into when to prune most varieties of plants, we do have a robust database on our website where we list quite a few plants and the best time to prune those plants. Just visit our website (tulsamastergardeners.org), click on the Lawn and Garden Help button and then scroll down to Pruning Guide. Good luck!

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org.

It seems like each year as our trees are losing their leaves and the flowers are turning brown, we get asked a lot of questions about whether now is a good time to prune plants. The answer is yes and no… it depends on the plant. But first, why do we prune our plants in the first place.

We prune our plants for a variety of reasons: to train and shape the plant, thinning to allow better air circulation, to get rid of dead branches, to stimulate new growth, or to keep growth aways from our homes or other structures.

Here’s some general rules for pruning.

When pruning, remember to never remove more than about 1/3 of the plant unless of course you are pruning out dead wood. One of the less rewarding aspects of pruning is that if you do it properly, no one will probably even notice. However, you will know, and your plant will probably be grateful in the long run.

Flowering shrubs, trees, and vines typically should not be pruned in the fall and winter because many of these have already set buds for next year’s flowers. A good example of this would be hydrangea (except the Oak Leaf hydrangea). It seems like each spring we get questions from homeowners wanting to know why their hydrangeas are not blooming and our first question is always “did you prune them in the fall or winter?” Since hydrangeas look like a bunch of sticks that need to be cut down, many people do just that. Just know that if you do, you will have to wait a year for flowers. A better plan is to prune your hydrangeas and most other flowering shrubs after they have bloomed in the summer before they set new buds. Other shrubs that fall in this category would include flowering quince, viburnum, wisteria, and forsythia.

There’s another group for summer-flowering varieties like abelian, butterfly bush, and Rose of Sharon which should be pruned in the fall or early spring.

Broadleaf evergreen plants such as camellia, scuba, cherry laurel, boxwood, holly, handing, mahonia, or photinia should be pruned in the spring before new growth begins.

What about pruning trees? For the most part we should leave tree trimming and pruning to the professionals. They have the skills and the experience to know how to trim your trees and your family really doesn’t want to see you high up on a ladder leaning to one side with a running chain saw in your hands. They don’t. You can find a certified arborist by visiting the website treesaregood.org. The is the national database of arborists and Tulsa is fortunate to have several.

While we don’t have time to go into when to prune most varieties of plants, we do have a robust database on our website where we list quite a few plants and the best time to prune those plants. Just visit our website (tulsamastergardeners.org), click on the Lawn and Garden Help button and then scroll down to Pruning Guide. Good luck!

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org. Photo: OSU Ag. Comm.