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mary_max

Shrubs to cut back in Fall

mary_max
10 years ago

Are there any shrubs that are to be cut back in fall? Thanks

Comments (7)

  • mulchmama
    10 years ago

    No, none. Never prune shrubs, roses or any other woody plants when they're going dormant. You prune some shrubs after they bloom because they bloom on the previous year's growth. Lilacs, many hydrangeas and weigelas are good examples. Shrubs that bloom on the current year's growth should be pruned in late winter. Rose of Sharon is one of those.

    So it makes sense to make a list of what you have and look up which category they all fall into. You will be pruning either in late winter/early spring, or early in the summer, but never in the fall.

  • mary_max
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you for the helpful post. Amazing because an article I read for our area said fall clean up and time to cut back shrubs. I questioned this so decided to ask and I am glad I did. I do see so many shrubs in area cut back now and always wondered about this. It makes their yards look to clean through the winter. Amazing too because their yards are absolutely beautiful all year long. Anyway I will continue to cut back in late winter early spring. Perhaps in the long run it will pay off. Thanks for the advice.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    in my z5 MI ...

    back in the day ...

    ALL ROSES WERE PRUNED DOWN .. covered in a mountain of mulch.. and the rose cone installed on top ...

    otherwise they died .. period ..

    the requested info is very location specific... and even if your z5 matches .. the area is so diverse as to make the info nearly useless...

    now.. roses are not shrubs..

    and all that said.. i would trim no shrub in fall ...

    frankly.. i dont cut anything.. until it barely buds out in spring... for fear that i will cut off the only pieces that will winter over.. lol ...

    ken

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    10 years ago

    now.. roses are not shrubs..

    Really?? What would you call them?

    Don't be alarmed, Ken :-)) I'm not going to jump on you but you DO have a unique way of explaining these terms so I 'm dying to see how this one shakes out.........:-)

  • mulchmama
    10 years ago

    Roses are woody plants, and when that lightbulb went on in my head, I quit doing the major and unnecessary routine Ken describes. And guess what? They all lived through a horrid Chicago winter! For years, back in the day as Ken says, I was tucking them in as if they were human babies.

    I would say roses are shrubs.

  • mulchmama
    10 years ago

    Ken, my mom and dad lived on Lake Michigan in the U.P. They were retired, and they were slowing down fast, and when my dad became immobile, my mom just stopped most garden work except for weeding and mowing. She never prepped woody plants for winter, especially the few roses she had, and they always came back. Sure, a ten foot snowdrift would break some canes, but it didn't kill the bush.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    it took me a few hours ... and a day to remember... to come back and fix what i said ...

    i grew hybrid T roses ... the fooest of the foo ...... i usually had about 100 ... and every spring.. i ordered in about 25 new ones.. but magically never got beyond 100 ... then i lost interest.. and within a few years.. they were all gone ...

    soooo .. when i told my sob story above.. i was talking about the foo foo ones ...

    obviously ... there are the shrub versions .. run them over with the truck .. mostly hundred year olds cultivars ... like the rugosa ... the war of the roses versions ... the climbers that could swallow a house ...... the monster ones.. bullet proof ...

    but still... as i think i said above.. i would cut them in spring.. finding out first, which parts made it thru a MI winter ... then for crossing branches .... then for shape ... never cutting at height.. but proper removal as close to the ground as you can ...

    so yes.. i agree ... there are shrub versions ... my bad ...

    and the only reason i responded.. is because gal didnt yell at me.. otherwise i would have moped .. lol ...

    ken

    ps: all that said.. if some branch came straight out into the lawn ... and scratched me.. that branch would be gone in the time it took to go get the machete and apply some malice .... you cut me man.. you are going to pay ... lol ...