Winter is fully set in, and I hope you’re staying warm and enjoying this great season. At Belknap Landscape winter keeps us just as busy as other seasons, but in different ways. Yes, we spend plenty of time with snow and ice removal, but we also use this season to undertake beneficial, but often-overlooked property care projects, such as dormant pruning.
Flowering shrubs are often associated with warm weather pruning, but dormant pruning, the practice of pruning shrubs while not actively growing or flowering, aids in bud and flower development and offers many benefits for certain species.
- Problem Branches Can Be Easily Identified: Damaged, dead, or diseased branches are easier to spot and remove when the shrub is without foliage.
- Robust Spring Growth: New spring growth is encouraged and enhanced when the weather warms following dormant pruning.
- Healthier Shrubs: When a shrub tries to sustain injured or unhealthy branches, it sends essential nutrients to the unhealthy site for repair, much like a cut on a person. Once that unhealthy branch is removed, those nutrients will be redistributed to the entire shrub for improved vigor.
- Increased Resistance to Pests and Diseases: Shrubs are less likely to contract diseases or pests, making the dormant season a safer time to prune.
- Rapid Healing: Pruning cuts heal more quickly when made in the dormant season, so the plant can take the refocused nutrients and repair itself before the warm weather and new growth begins.
Species that can successfully be pruned while dormant include Hydrangea, Wisteria, Butterfly Bush, Clematis, Rose, deciduous grasses, some Dogwood, Beautyberry, and most ornamental flowering trees.
However, not every plant can be pruned while dormant; if pruned at the wrong time, a plant may sustain a significant and disappointing decrease in buds and blooms the following season. Our team of specially trained experts can help you identify which plants will benefit from dormant pruning and assist in providing appropriate care this winter.
Start the New Year Strong. Let the Belknap Tree and Plant experts evaluate your misshapen, overgrown, or sickly-looking plants, shrubs, and trees while helping to improve the look, health, and investment in your landscaping.