{"id":1336,"date":"2025-01-31T09:17:40","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T15:17:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theiowagardener.com\/wordpress\/?page_id=1336"},"modified":"2025-03-18T08:41:31","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T13:41:31","slug":"how-to-prune-shrubs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/theiowagardener.com\/wordpress\/how-to-prune-shrubs\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Prune Shrubs and Hedges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Well-kept shrubs and hedges make your landscape look cared for. As a rule, most shrubs should not be pruned much. Ideally, the right-sized plant would have been planted in the right place and you can enjoy its natural shape. Generally, the same is true for hedges, unless you want to have a very uniform appearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In some cases, you absolutely should not do any regular pruning. This is especially true for loosely shaped, flowering shrubs with tall, arching branches, such as forsythia, spirea, lilacs, and weiglea. Trying to trim them into tight shapes misshapen them and distorts their blooms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When to Prune Shrubs<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The late dormant season is best for most pruning. Pruning in late winter, just before spring growth starts, leaves fresh wounds exposed for only a short length of time before new growth begins the wound-sealing process. Another advantage of dormant pruning is that it\u2019s easier to make pruning decisions without leaves obscuring plant branch structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, with flowering shrubs, as a rule of thumb, prune within a month <em>after <\/em>the shrub flowers to allow plenty of time for new flower buds to form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shrubs that bloom on new growth may be pruned in spring before growth begins. Plants with marginally hardy stems such as clematis and shrub roses should be pruned back to live wood. Hardier shrubs such as late-blooming spireas and smooth (snowball) hydrangeas should be pruned to the first pair of buds above the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Renewal Pruning for Older or Overgrown Shrubs<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Every year remove up to one-third of the oldest, thickest stems or trunks, taking them right down to the ground. This will encourage the growth of new stems from the roots. Once there are no longer any thick, overgrown trunks left, switch to standard pruning as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pruning Hedges<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>After the initial pruning at planting, hedges need to be pruned often, usually 1 to 3 times a year depending on the plants used. Once the hedge reaches the desired height, prune new growth back whenever it grows another 6 to 8 inches. Prune to within 2 inches of the last pruning. Most hedges do well when pruned twice a year, in spring and again in mid-summer, to keep them dense and attractive. Prune hedges so they\u2019re wider at the base than at the top to allow all parts to receive sunlight and prevent legginess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Source:\u00a0University of Minnesota Horticulture Extension, Mike Zins and Deborah Brown,\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.extension.umn.edu\/distribution\/horticulture\/DG0628.html\">Pruning Trees and Shrubs,<\/a><\/em>\u00a0Item # 00628, 1997, All rights reserved<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Please do not use content from this site without express permission from The Iowa Gardener. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"mailto:info@theiowagardener.com\">Click here<\/a><\/span>\u00a0to request permission.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Well-kept shrubs and hedges make your landscape look cared for. As a rule, most shrubs should not be pruned much. Ideally, the right-sized plant would have been planted in the right place and you can enjoy its natural shape. Generally, the same is true for hedges, unless you want to have a very uniform appearance. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1848,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,7,5,1],"tags":[92,96],"class_list":["post-1336","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to-information-for-iowa-gardeners","category-garden-know-how","category-trees-and-shrubs","category-uncategorized","tag-pruning","tag-shrubs"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Prune Shrubs and Hedges - The Iowa Gardener<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theiowagardener.com\/wordpress\/how-to-prune-shrubs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Prune Shrubs and Hedges - The Iowa Gardener\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Well-kept shrubs and hedges make your landscape look cared for. As a rule, most shrubs should not be pruned much. Ideally, the right-sized plant would have been planted in the right place and you can enjoy its natural shape. Generally, the same is true for hedges, unless you want to have a very uniform appearance. 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