How to remember when to prune different shrubs?

Every fall I go through the same thing...what should I prune now? and what should I prune in the spring? Is there an easy way to remember? It seems like I have to run in the house and google each plant to figure out if I should or shouldn't prune. Does it have to do with when they set their buds for blossums? For example, if they set their buds in the spring, it's okay to prune in the fall. If they set their buds before the fall, then prune after they bloom. If I understood the logic behind pruning, I think I would remember better.

Can you tell I'm a beginner? Anyway, I'm hoping there some easy trick or clever saying to help me remember when to prune.

Spring flowering shrubs are pruned in the fall. Fall blooming shrubs are pruned in the spring. Shrubs grown for foliage may be lightly trimmed anytime for cosmetic reasons, but it's best to do major pruning in late winter/early spring. You didn't ask about trees.

Thanks so much for the reply - this is very helpful. Better get out there and finish the spireas, but leave the lilacs alone.

I do have some trees...but they're mostly large sugar maples, jack pines, and cedars. I don't have the tools/know-how to prune these so will let nature worry about them for now.

What about shrub roses? If I prune those in the fall, do they put they're energy into re-building foliage instead of into strengthening their roots and prepping for winter? I wish I knew how to think like a plant.

BTW, where's Woodway, TX? Anywhere near Galveston or were you safe from Ike?

Hi- We don't have many conifers here, but they are best left alone, since the shapes are hard to maintain if you prune. Hopefully yours have plenty of room to get to mature size and not be crowded. The maples likewise shouldn't need pruning, but if they do, the general rule is to prune in the dead of winter. That's because insect pests and disease are inactive and can't enter through the cuts.

Can I modify my earlier comments slightly? If you have shrubs that bloom once a year only, a good time to prune those fairly heavily is right after they are through blooming. Most shrubs bloom on new growth, so when you prune, buds for the blooming season will have plenty of time to form so you can have a nice display the next year. Here we prune shrub roses on Valentine's day, so you'd probably wait until about the second week of March. The reason to not prune them in the fall is that they might be stimulated to try to put on new growth, and that's counterproductive going into the winter.

Thanks for asking about Ike. I am actually in Waco, which is in Central Texas. We got a little rain and that was it. I have friends in Galveston who lost EVERYTHING. One couple are moving to North Texas.

Best of luck to you. Your comment that you wish you could think like a plant is a great observation. I'll remember that.

I have read that most roses should be cut back in the fall. This helps protect them from winter breakage during snowy winters and keep energy at the core. The only exception is climbing roses, which I have a few of. I read to lay the canes down and protect them with mulch but I had already spent all summer weaving the canes through a beautiful trellis! Silly me! You learn as you go! One shrub needs noting, if you have them; Hydrangeas.They don't go by the regular pruning rules. I have seen arguments break out over the pruning of these. Depending on the type- I have an Annabelle which needs pruning in early spring or late fall. The blue or pink varieties supposedly should NOT ever be pruned unless absolutely necessary because it will sacrifice the blooms. I have a folder where I keep all the picture-info tags from my nursery-bought plants, adding on the tag with a perma marker the date planted. Any care info I print out from the internet I also add to this folder which I peruse in late summer and early spring so I know what to do. You could also make two lists of spring pruners and fall ones and keep them in there. Hope this helps!

Dave's is an absolutely wonderful medium for gardeners who want to communicate, but "rules" that apply in one area of the country don't necessarily apply in another. We in the South don't have the problem with snow and ice (usually) causing the weighing down and breaking of roses. I stand by my answer that HERE we prune roses on Valentine's Day, or thereabouts. That promotes a new flush of growth in the spring. If we were to prune them in the fall, that would encourage new growth, which would be nipped by the first freeze, which usually comes around Dec. 1. The exception is climbing roses. They bloom on new growth only, so we prune them just after their bloom period. That helps ensure a nice crop of blooms the next season.

I am assuming that in the North you wait until after a hard freeze to do your fall pruning.

That sure helped me! Great idea. I'm going to use it.
Now about that trellis... If you get heavy snows you are supposed to build them in such a way that they can be laid down in the fall. Can you do that with yours? Here in the Ozarks we have lost 3 trellises to the winds so we are going to build our next ones with a hinge or something.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and help. I just bought a climbing rose to put on a trellis...I had never considered how to get them protected for the winter once on the trellis, so you all have given me something to ponder over the winter so I'm ready to roll with a plan in the spring.

I think the folder idea is a great one...maybe I should keep it in my e-journal here at Dave's.? I'm new to this whole DG thing so need to figure out all of the great tools provided. It will certainly give me something to do while I watch the snow swirling about over the coming months.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/549/
Also Suzanne Talbert (art_n_garden) has written a few articles about how to use the DG journal!

I got some advice myself about winter protection of climbing roses. A friend told me to keep them on the trellis, wrap the trellis in burlap and mulch the base. Mine is against the house so it is protected from winds and harsh weather, mostly. For those who lost a trellis, I suggest keeping it against the house and cement the base into the ground. Metal would be good except if you get hot summer weather it could get as hot as a rivet and burn the stalks. I wove my climber way too thoroughly to remove it and lay it to the ground this fall so I am going to do the burlap idea and let you know if it survives!
As far as my answers, dp72, I am sure you know what you are talking about. But Minnesota weather like bmblsad's and my Upstate New York weather can share very harsh winter circumstances for plants that one must provide preventative measures for.

Some plants bloom on growth made the previous year. Spirea is one of them. They should be pruned right after blooming. To prune them now would remove the buds that would bloom next year. It is the same with azaleas. And mock orange.

Shrubs that bloom on this year's growth can be pruned anytime.

I suggest you google the plants you have, and write the information down so it is readily available in the future.

Till you get used to all the plants you have that do need pruned, when and how, you would be better keeping a garden diary so you can note when they flowered, what type they are and when to feed, prune or do whatever they need, this way you can add things each season like poor flowering, damage to leaf, diseases etc. Some shrubs only need pruned to keep them in check size wise, others only because they become tangled like honeysuckles etc, others like roses benefit from proper punning each year depending on the type, how to take cuttings and when are all good ways to get to know what you are growing as well as the care. So a journal or diary would be the best way to get started, it also helps you remember the proper names and where they are planted if they die down in winter. good luck. WeeNel.