How to Prune Your Hedges Before Winter
You should prune hedges ahead of wintertime, but you need to know how to do it the right way. Here’s how to keep your hedges looking great and avoid common hedge-pruning pitfalls.
One of the most challenging aspects of pruning hedges is determining the ideal time of year to do it. Often, the best time of year to make pruning cuts is in the early spring. However, there are other times when you can prune, including late fall. It’s important to know that late-season pruning comes with a few risks. So, before you begin, read through this guide on how to prune hedges before winter to ensure you get the job done right.
If you choose to prune in the fall, you should not do so too early. Wait until there have been a few frosts before you make your cuts. Pruning before the frost arrives can stimulate new growth that will die as soon as the temperature drops for good. If you wait until frost has arrived in late fall, then you can avoid that issue.
Frost will arrive at different times of the year, depending on where you live. But if you are looking for a guideline, treat the arrival of Thanksgiving as a sign that a few frosts have already passed. Remember that Thanksgiving is only a vague indication that it is safe to prune your hedges. A more reliable approach would be to pay attention to the ground in your garden and take note of when the frost arrives. At that point, most of your hedges will enter a dormant phase in which it is suitable to prune them.
Once you have waited until the frost has arrived and your hedges are safe to prune, it is time to begin pruning. To perform this essential gardening task, you will need one or more of the following tools:
Evaluate the hedges you intend to prune, then choose the best pruning tool to use accordingly. With your tool in hand, you can begin removing any part of your hedge plants that are:
Removing those parts of the plant has many benefits. Mainly, taking off those unwanted branches will allow the plant to allocate its growing energy to its most important branches in the coming year. Pruning hedges is also a chance for you to improve the airflow within the branches of each shrub.
After selectively removing individual branches, you can then shape your hedges as you please. Shearing a hedge involves shearing off the outermost part of the foliage until you achieve the overall form you desire. Be sure not to remove too much of the foliage as some plant species are unable to sprout new growth from old wood. In those instances, removing too much foliage will leave your hedge permanently bare.
As we mentioned earlier, there are a few risks that come with a late-fall pruning job. We’ll cover a few of the most common issues so that you can avoid them and keep your garden as healthy as can be.
When pruning in the fall, you do not want to stimulate new growth. A plant’s natural reaction to a pruning cut is to send forth new growth elsewhere. This is why it is crucial to wait until the first few frosts have arrived for the season. If you prune before the frost, the new growth is likely to die as soon as the frost arrives.
Another issue to consider when pruning hedges before winter is flower bud removal. Some plant species set the next season’s flower buds before the winter arrives. If you are not aware of that, you may accidentally remove those flower buds as you prune. That will effectively prevent or reduce the blooms of that plant in the next season and remove much of its ornamental value. The following list is not comprehensive but does include a few popular shrub species that set their buds before the winter:
Pruning in late fall can be a delicate chore. That means you need to know the correct way to complete this task before you attempt it. While there are some considerable risks to pruning at that time of year, if you follow the tips in this guide, you should have no issue understanding how to prune your hedges before winter comes.