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Short answer: prune spring-flowering shrubs within four to six weeks after the flowers fade, because they set those buds last summer. Prune summer-flowering shrubs and most deciduous trees in late winter while dormant, because they flower on growth made this year. Shear evergreen hedges after the spring flush hardens, with a lighter cut in midsummer. Dead, damaged and diseased wood comes out whenever you see it.
Everything below is that rule applied to specific plants and specific months. Dates assume USDA zone 6; shift about two weeks earlier per zone warmer and two weeks later per zone colder.
The One Question That Sorts Almost Everything
Does this plant flower on old wood or new wood?
Old wood means the flower buds were formed during the previous growing season and have been sitting on the plant all winter. Cut those stems in spring and you have removed the entire display before it opened. These plants bloom early — generally April through June — and the safe window is the few weeks straight after flowering, before they set next year's buds in midsummer.
New wood means the plant produces flowers on shoots grown in the current season. Cutting it back hard while dormant does not cost you a single bloom; in fact it usually produces more and larger flowers on stronger stems. These plants bloom later — generally July through September — and the safe window is late winter to very early spring.
A useful shortcut when you cannot identify a shrub: note the month it flowers. Spring bloom means old wood, so prune right after. Midsummer or later means new wood, so prune in late winter. It is right far more often than it is wrong.
The Month-by-Month Calendar
| Month | Prune now | Do not prune |
|---|---|---|
| January | Dormant deciduous trees (apples, pears, most shade trees); grapes; wisteria winter cut; oaks and elms (safest window) | Anything flowering on old wood; stone fruit |
| February | Panicle and smooth hydrangeas; butterfly bush; crape myrtle; summer spireas; ornamental grasses; dormant fruit trees; Group 3 clematis | Spring bloomers; conifers |
| March | Hybrid tea, floribunda and shrub roses as buds swell; rose of Sharon; beautyberry; remaining dormant tree work before bud break; renovation of deciduous hedges | Forsythia, lilac, azalea and anything about to bloom; maples and birches (sap bleed) |
| April | Forsythia immediately after bloom; pines when candles are elongating; damaged wood anywhere | Oaks — oak wilt season begins; elms; spring bloomers still in bud |
| May | Lilac, azalea, rhododendron, flowering quince, kerria — right after the flowers fade; spruce and fir new growth; first shear of fast-growing formal hedges | Oaks; elms; anything you want to bloom later this season |
| June | Weigela, mock orange, deutzia, bridalwreath spirea, mountain laurel, viburnum after flowering; boxwood and yew once new growth has hardened; once-blooming climbing roses and ramblers after bloom | Oaks; hydrangea macrophylla still setting next year's buds late in the month |
| July | Bigleaf, mountain and oakleaf hydrangeas immediately after flowering; second hedge cut; wisteria summer shortening; maples and birches if they must be cut | Anything that has already set buds for next spring |
| August | Stone fruit — cherries, plums, apricots — in dry weather; light hedge tidy early in the month; summer-bearing raspberry canes after harvest | Start stopping. Cuts from now on drive soft growth that will not harden |
| September | Dead, damaged and diseased wood only | Almost everything. This is the worst general-purpose pruning month |
| October | Nothing routine; remove hazards and storm damage | Shaping cuts of any kind |
| November | Dormant season opens as leaves drop: oaks and elms become safe again; structural tree work can begin | Tender shrubs in cold zones — wait for hard dormancy |
| December | Dormant deciduous trees; holly and evergreen trimmings for decoration; grape vines | Evergreen hedges; spring bloomers |
By Plant: The Timing Table
| Plant | Blooms on | Prune when | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forsythia | Old wood | Within 4 weeks after bloom (April–May) | Sets next year's buds by midsummer |
| Lilac (Syringa) | Old wood | Immediately after bloom (May–June) | Later cuts remove next spring's flowers |
| Azalea & rhododendron | Old wood | Within 3–4 weeks after bloom | Bud set begins soon after flowering |
| Weigela, deutzia, mock orange | Old wood | June, right after flowering | Same bud-set logic |
| Bridalwreath / spring spirea | Old wood | Right after bloom | Distinguish from summer-blooming Japanese spirea |
| Japanese spirea (Goldflame, Little Princess) | New wood | Late winter | Shear hard for a fuller plant and a second flush |
| Butterfly bush (Buddleia) | New wood | Late winter — cut to 12–18 in. | Flowers only on current-season shoots |
| Crape myrtle | New wood | Late winter | Thin, do not top — see the topping warning below |
| Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) | New wood | Late winter to early spring | Late leafing out; easy to prune before it wakes |
| Beautyberry (Callicarpa) | New wood | Late winter — can cut hard | Vigorous regrowth carries the berries |
| Potentilla, caryopteris, St. John's wort | New wood | Late winter | Cut back by a third to a half |
| Viburnum | Old wood (most) | Right after flowering | Late pruning also costs you the berries |
| Ninebark (Physocarpus) | Old wood | After flowering, or late winter if you want foliage over flowers | Often grown for leaf color, which changes the trade-off |
| Lavender | New wood | Light shape in spring; harder cut after flowering | Never cut into bare old wood — it does not regrow |
| Ornamental grasses | n/a | Late winter, before new shoots appear | Winter structure is worth keeping until then |
| Wisteria | Old wood, spurs | Two cuts: July shorten to 5–6 leaves; January shorten to 2–3 buds | The two-step is what produces flowers instead of vine |
| Clematis Group 1 (montana, alpina) | Old wood | Right after flowering | Early bloomers |
| Clematis Group 2 (large-flowered) | Old + new | Light tidy in late winter | Hard pruning costs the first flush |
| Clematis Group 3 (viticella, jackmanii) | New wood | Late winter — cut to about 12 in. | Blooms on current-season growth |
| Summer-bearing raspberries | Old canes | After harvest — remove the canes that fruited | Next year's crop is on this year's new canes |
| Fall-bearing raspberries | New canes | Late winter — cut everything to the ground | Simplest pruning job in the garden |
| Blueberries | Old wood | Late winter | Remove the oldest quarter of canes each year |
Hydrangeas: The Classic Mistake
More gardeners lose hydrangea flowers to bad timing than to any other cause, and it is almost always the same story: a bigleaf hydrangea tidied up in spring, and a season with nothing but leaves. The genus splits neatly, so identify what you have before touching it.
| Type | Common names | Blooms on | Prune when | How much |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bigleaf — H. macrophylla | Mophead, lacecap, Nikko Blue | Old wood | Right after flowering, by early August | Lightly. Remove spent heads to the first pair of fat buds and take out a few oldest stems |
| Mountain — H. serrata | Bluebird, Tuff Stuff | Old wood | Right after flowering | Light |
| Oakleaf — H. quercifolia | Snow Queen, Alice | Old wood | Right after flowering | Minimal — mostly dead wood only |
| Climbing — H. anomala petiolaris | Climbing hydrangea | Old wood | Right after flowering | Minimal; only to control size |
| Panicle — H. paniculata | Limelight, Little Lime, Quick Fire, Bobo | New wood | Late winter / early spring | Cut back by up to one-third; builds a strong framework |
| Smooth — H. arborescens | Annabelle, Incrediball | New wood | Late winter | Can go to 12–18 in.; leaving 18–24 in. gives sturdier stems that flop less |
| Reblooming — H. macrophylla series | Endless Summer, Let's Dance | Old and new wood | Deadhead after the first flush; remove dead stems in spring | Light. Hard spring pruning still costs the first, best flush |
Telling them apart: panicle hydrangeas have cone-shaped flower heads and pointed leaves; smooth hydrangeas have round white heads on soft stems; bigleaf have thick glossy leaves and round or flat heads in blue or pink; oakleaf have unmistakable lobed, oak-shaped leaves. When in doubt, prune nothing but dead wood for a year and watch when it blooms.
Roses
- Hybrid tea, grandiflora and floribunda: late winter to early spring, as the buds begin to swell. The traditional cue is when forsythia blooms in your area. Cut to 12 to 24 inches, to an outward-facing bud, removing dead and crossing canes.
- Shrub and landscape roses (Knock Out and similar): early spring; take the whole plant down by a third to a half. They are forgiving.
- Once-blooming old garden roses, ramblers and species roses: right after flowering in June or July. These bloom on old wood, and spring pruning removes the display.
- Repeat-blooming climbers: late winter for structure, and deadhead through the season. Train canes horizontally — flowering shoots come from the top of a horizontal cane.
Trees and the Disease-Timing Exceptions
Most deciduous trees are best pruned in late dormancy, roughly January through mid-March, when structure is visible, wounds close quickly as growth resumes, and disease and insect pressure are low. Four groups break that rule.
- Oaks. Do not prune from about April through July. Fresh wounds attract the sap beetles that spread oak wilt, which can kill a red oak in one season. Prune November through February. If storm damage forces a summer cut, seal it immediately — the one legitimate use of wound dressing.
- Elms. Avoid pruning during beetle flight, broadly April through October, because of Dutch elm disease. Cut in the dormant months instead.
- Bleeders — maple, birch, walnut, hornbeam, dogwood, grape. Cut in late winter and they run sap heavily. It is rarely harmful but it is alarming and messy; prune them in early summer once leaves are fully expanded, or in late fall.
- Stone fruit — cherry, plum, apricot, peach. Prune in dry summer weather rather than winter. Winter cuts on wet wood invite silver leaf and bacterial canker. Peaches are often pruned at pink bud in early spring instead.
And one rule that applies to every tree: never remove more than about a quarter of a mature tree's live canopy in a single season, and never top a tree. Topping produces weakly attached water sprouts, opens the trunk to decay, and permanently shortens the tree's life. It is the most damaging thing done to trees in American yards — more on that in pruning mistakes that kill plants.
Evergreens and Hedges
| Type | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Boxwood | Late spring after the flush hardens; light tidy by early August | Avoid shearing in extreme heat; thin as well as shear to let light inside |
| Yew (Taxus) | Late spring, second cut midsummer | The one conifer that reliably regrows from old bare wood |
| Arborvitae & juniper | Late spring, light cut midsummer | Cut only into green growth — brown wood stays brown permanently |
| Leyland cypress | Late spring and again midsummer | Fast; needs two or three cuts a year. Never cut into bare wood |
| Pine | Spring, while candles are elongating | Pinch new candles by half; do not cut back into old needle-free wood |
| Spruce & fir | Spring, on new growth | Can be cut back to a live bud on the current season's shoot |
| Privet, hornbeam, beech, hawthorn | Late spring, midsummer, light tidy early fall | All regenerate from old wood — they tolerate renovation |
| Cherry laurel | Late spring | Use loppers rather than shears; sheared leaves brown at the cut edges |
Two things override the hedge calendar. First, check for active bird nests before any heavy cutting between roughly April and August — nests are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and it takes thirty seconds to look. Second, stop shaping by late summer so growth hardens before frost. The technique itself, including the batter that keeps a hedge dense at the base, is in how to trim a hedge straight.
Three Rules That Override the Calendar
- Dead, damaged and diseased wood comes out immediately, in any month. There is no wrong time to remove a hazard or a broken limb.
- Never remove more than one-third of a shrub in one season — a quarter for mature trees. Hard renovation is done over two or three years, which is exactly the approach in renovating an overgrown hedge.
- Match the tool to the branch. Bypass pruners to about 1/2 inch, loppers to about 1 1/2 inches, a pruning saw beyond that, and hedge trimmers only on soft growth up to roughly 3/8 to 3/4 inch. Forcing a tool is how both plants and tools get ruined — see best loppers and best pruning saws.
Get the month right and the technique is straightforward — how to prune shrubs properly covers where to place the cut. The whole hub starts at pruning, trimming and hedges, and our research method is on how we rank.