A plant that bloomed well last year can disappoint the next if the cut came at the wrong moment. Pruning guides stay with that calendar: which wood carries the flowers, when to tidy, and what to leave alone.
They are not design essays about shaping a formal hedge, and they are not a substitute for knowing whether your plant flowers on old wood or new. Open the plant by letter below when you are standing with secateurs and need the timing more than a theory.
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D
K
M
P
Prune a Coconut Palm – Yellow Lower FrondsPruning
Prune a Lemon Tree – Suckers Below the GraftPruning
Prune a Peach Tree – Open CentrePruning
Prune a Viburnum – After Spring Bloom on Old WoodPruning
Prune Abelia in Late WinterPruning
Prune Acacia After the Flowers FadePruning
Prune Apple Trees in Late WinterPruning
Prune Arborvitae – Stay in the Green WoodPruning
Prune Asters – Pinch Tall Types in Late SpringPruning
Prune Avocado Tree – After Harvest to a Pick HeightPruning
Prune Barbados Cherry After FruitingPruning
Prune Barberry – Late Winter or After FlowerPruning
Prune Bay Laurel in Summer With Hand PrunersPruning
Prune Beauty Bush After Bloom, Oldest StemsPruning
Prune Beautyberry – Hard Cut on New WoodPruning
Prune Beech – Hedge in AugustPruning
Prune Birch in Late Summer or FallPruning
Prune Bismarck Palm – Dead Fronds OnlyPruning
Prune Blue Latan Palm – Fully Dead Fronds OnlyPruning
Prune Blue Potato Bush After Bloom, One-ThirdPruning
Prune Bluebeard – Hard Cut on New WoodPruning
Prune Blueberry – Old Canes While DormantPruning
Prune Bottle Palm – Fully Brown Fronds OnlyPruning
Prune Boxwood – Thin So Light Reaches the CenterPruning
Prune Butterfly Bush by ClassPruning
Prune Cabbage Palm – Fully Brown Fronds OnlyPruning
Prune California Bay Lightly in Late SummerPruning
Prune California Lilac – After Bloom on a Dry DayPruning
Prune Camellias After BloomPruning
Prune Cape Honeysuckle – Shrub, Hedge, Vine, or BankPruning
Prune Caranday Palm – Fully Brown FrondsPruning
Prune Carolina Jessamine After BloomPruning
Prune Catalina Ironwood – One Trunk or Several, Cut SuckersPruning
Prune Catalpa – Dormant for a Strong FrameworkPruning
Prune Chaste Tree in Late WinterPruning
Prune Cherimoya After Leaf DropPruning
Prune Chinese Fan Palm – Brown Fronds OnlyPruning
Prune Chinese Fringe Flower After Spring BloomPruning
Prune Cinquefoil – Late Winter or to a Few InchesPruning
Prune Cistus – Green Tips After BloomPruning
Prune Clematis by GroupPruning
Prune Climbing and Rambler Roses – Timing Before ToolsPruning
Prune Cotoneaster – Spring or After FlowerPruning
Prune Crabapple – Suckers and Water SproutsPruning
Prune Crape Myrtle for Structure in Late WinterPruning
Prune Currant – Mixed-Age Canes in Late WinterPruning
Prune Daisy Bush – After the White Daisies FadePruning
Prune Date Palm – Dead Fronds Below HorizontalPruning
Prune Desert Ironwood in Late WinterPruning
Prune Deutzia After the Spring BellsPruning
Prune Dogwood – Renew Stems or Light Tree CutsPruning
Prune Duranta in Late WinterPruning
Prune Eastern Hemlock – Wider at the BasePruning
Prune Elderberry – Mixed-Age Canes in Late WinterPruning
Prune Elm in Winter Off the Mid-April WindowPruning
Prune Empress Tree – Flowers or Giant LeavesPruning
Prune Esperanza – After a Freeze, Cut Dead WoodPruning
Prune Euonymus Burning Bush – Late Winter Then SpringPruning
Prune European Fan Palm – Fully Brown FrondsPruning
Prune Fir – Only on Green NeedlesPruning
Prune Firebush After FreezePruning
Prune Firecracker Plant in Late WinterPruning
Prune Firethorn After BloomPruning
Prune Florida Silver Palm – Brown Fronds OnlyPruning
Prune Flowering Quince After BloomPruning
Prune Fringe Tree – After Bloom for One TrunkPruning
Prune Golden Chain Tree After Bloom, Then Live WoodPruning
Prune Grapevines – Dormant, Before Bud PushPruning
Prune Griselinia in Late SpringPruning
Prune Guava – To a Height You Can PickPruning
Prune Hawthorn – After Bloom or Winter Dead WoodPruning
Prune Hebe After BloomPruning
Prune Hellebores Before BloomPruning
Prune Hibiscus by KindPruning
Prune Honey Bush in Spring on Old WoodPruning
Prune Honeysuckle After Bloom on Last Year’s WoodPruning
Prune Hornbeam – Clip a European Hedge in SummerPruning
Prune Hydrangeas – Old Wood or New WoodPruning
Prune Indian Plum – After Flower, Pull SuckersPruning
Prune Jackfruit After HarvestPruning
Prune Japanese Andromeda – Right After BloomPruning
Prune Japanese Kerria After Bloom, Thin Oldest StemsPruning
Prune Jasmine After FloweringPruning
Prune Juniper Where Green Needles RemainPruning
Prune Lavender – Off Bare WoodPruning
Prune Lilacs on Old WoodPruning
Prune Lion’s Tail in Late WinterPruning
Prune Longan After HarvestPruning
Prune Lychee After HarvestPruning
Prune Macadamia After HarvestPruning
Prune Magnolias by ClassPruning
Prune Mango – After Harvest, Pickable HeightPruning
Prune Maples – After Leaf-Out or DormantPruning
Prune Mexican Buckeye After Bloom to a LeaderPruning
Prune Mexican Fan Palm – Fully Brown Fronds OnlyPruning
Prune Mickey Mouse Plant – After the Fruit ShowPruning
Prune Mock Orange – After the Flowers FadePruning
Prune Mountain Laurel After the Flowers FadePruning
Prune Mulberry While DormantPruning
Prune Myrtle After FrostPruning
Prune Nandina – Oldest Canes to the GroundPruning
Prune Needle Palm – Fully Brown Fronds OnlyPruning
Prune New Zealand Christmas Tree After BloomPruning
Prune Ninebark – After Bloom or in Late WinterPruning
Prune Nippon Daisy – Spring Shoots, Leave Woody StemsPruning
Prune Nutmeg – Water Sprouts, Open the CrownPruning
Prune Oak in the Dormant SeasonPruning
Prune Ocean Spray – After Bloom, Thin Oldest StemsPruning
Prune Olive – After Harvest, Open CenterPruning
Prune Orange Jasmine After the Flowers FadePruning
Prune Orchid Tree – Train a Trunk, Raise After BloomPruning
Prune Oregano – Before BloomPruning
Prune Oregon Grape – Cut Old Canes After BloomPruning
Prune Passion Flower in Late WinterPruning
Prune Paurotis Palm – Only Brown FrondsPruning
Prune Pear Trees in Late WinterPruning
Prune Pearl Bush After BloomPruning
Prune Penstemon – When Basal Shoots ShowPruning
Prune Persimmon in Late WinterPruning
Prune Pincushion Protea – After Bloom to Leafy WoodPruning
Prune Pistachio – One Leader or Grocery WoodPruning
Prune Pittosporum – After the Flowers FadePruning
Prune Porterweed After FrostPruning
Prune Potato Vine After BloomPruning
Prune Privet – Shear From Late SpringPruning
Prune Queen Palm – Only Brown FrondsPruning
Prune Quince – Open Goblet in Late WinterPruning
Prune Rambutan – After Harvest, Open the CenterPruning
Prune Raspberries – This Year’s WoodPruning
Prune Redbud – After Bloom on Dry WoodPruning
Prune Rhododendrons After BloomPruning
Prune Royal Palm – Fully Brown Fronds OnlyPruning
Prune Running Bamboo – After New Shoots HardenPruning
Prune Sapodilla – After Harvest, Strong VerticalsPruning
Prune Saw Palmetto – Only Brown FansPruning
Prune Scotch Broom After BloomPruning
Prune Serviceberry While DormantPruning
Prune Seven Son Flower in Late WinterPruning
Prune Shiny Xylosma – Cut Back at Planting, Then ShearPruning
Prune Shrimp Plant in Winter When Bloom SlowsPruning
Prune Simpson’s Stopper – Hedge or a Small TreePruning
Prune Smoke Bush – Hard Late Winter or Light for PlumesPruning
Prune Spanish Broom – Oldest Stems Before SpringPruning
Prune Spicebush After Bloom, Thin Oldest StemsPruning
Prune Spotted Laurel in Late WinterPruning
Prune Spruce Trees – Where Green Needles RemainPruning
Prune Stewartia in Late WinterPruning
Prune Sumac – Suckers at the Soil LinePruning
Prune Sweetshrub – After the First BloomPruning
Prune Tamarisk – Hard Cut in Late WinterPruning
Prune Tea Olive After BloomPruning
Prune Texas Rock Rose After the Last FrostPruning
Prune Texas Sage in Late WinterPruning
Prune Thyme After Bloom Off Old WoodPruning
Prune Tomato Plants – Pinch Suckers on VinesPruning
Prune Toyon After Berries DropPruning
Prune Turk’s Cap After a FreezePruning
Prune Weeping Willow – After Catkins FadePruning
Prune Windmill Palm – Only Fully Brown FrondsPruning
Prune Wintersweet – Right After BloomPruning
Prune Wisteria on Old-Wood SpursPruning
Prune Witch Hazel After BloomPruning
Prune Yew – Thin New Growth in Early SpringPruning
Prune Yucca – Spent Flower Stalk and Dead LeavesPruning
Prune Zelkova – Clustered Vase While YoungPruning
