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How to prune spring-flowering shrubs
The rule of thumb for almost all plants with a woody stem is: |
If it flowers before mid-June, prune in spring after flowering; and if it flowers later, prune in late winter or early spring.
But always check the plant in a good plant guide.
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 | Some spring-flowering shrubs, such as philadelphus and forsythia, become straggly and untidy unless pruned every year. An unpruned plant also takes up lots of space and flowers less well than a pruned one.
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| Pruning such shrubs is basically deadheading on a big scale! As soon as the flowers are over, cut back all the stems carrying dead flowers.
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| Follow the stem down until you reach a young sideshoot with no dead flowers on it, and cut just above the point where it grows out of the main branch.
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 | Do that regularly each year and your spring shrubs will stay neater, and carry a lot more flowers.
And for summer flowering shrubs, the technique is basically the same, just the timing is different.
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