BOB: The best "rule of thumb" is to prune them within 30 days after they finish blooming. This will allow them time to form new flower buds for next year. [More about pruning shrubs] BOB: Golf courses use a variety of grass (bentgrass) that can withstand short mowing. Your home lawn needs to be cut at 2-1/2 to 3 inches. Remember: The longer the blade the deeper the roots.

Since these plants bloom on previous year's wood, they should be pruned after they bloom or else you will sacrifice flower buds. Pruning should be done within six weeks after blooming. This is also a good time to feed them. We recommend Merrifield Flowering Plant Food, a high phosphorous formula that will promote flowering. These plants should be pruned in the early spring before the new growth begins to emerge. Bigleaf, Oakleaf and Climbing Hydrangeas are an exception to this rule.

Prune immediately after blooming in the spring, but no later than September 1 or you will get little or no blooms the following spring.

It really depends on the type of shrub you are needing to prune and if and when it flowers. Pruning flowering shrubs at the wrong time can affect the blooming. For shrubs that flower on new growth: they should be pruned early in the spring before blooming. Pruning in the spring will encourage new growth and more flowers. Examples: Blue Mist Spirea, Anthony Waterer Spirea, Potentilla. Shrubs which bloom on old growth from the previous year should be pruned AFTER flowering.

Spring flowering shrubs bloom on twigs that grew the previous summer and therefore should be pruned in the fall following flowering. Summer flowering shrubs bloom on new wood that grew earlier this growing season and should be pruned in the spring before new growth starts. ? back to top

Most major pruning on deciduous plants (plants that loose their leaves in fall) should be done when the plant is dormant. During the growing season, a plant's leaves contain food, in the form of sugars. Removing these leaves, before they are able to send this food back down to the plants roots in fall, will rob the plant of essential food and stunt it's growth.

Pruning is a simple and easy gardening task and just requires a little knowledge. First you need a pair of hand shears or hedge shears. If you need power tools, its probably not pruning that needs to be done, and if it is, call a professional to do it. First and foremost, make sure the blade is sharp. The cardinal rule is to prune back to a branch or bud, or you will leave a stub that can cause disease in the tree.

Pinch back Mums and other flowers that are beginning their vigorous spring growth. By lightly tip-pruning these types of plants, it will keep them more compact, preventing them from becoming long and leggy.

It's generally best not to remove more than 15 to 20 percent of shrubs' top growth at any one time. Late winter is the best time for that type of severe reshaping, as it allows the plants to regrow and fill in right away in the spring. Prune in a way that allows some leaf growth to remain. Hopefully you can prune with lopping shears and hand shears so that you can avoid unnaturally round or square shapes.

We bought a house with azalea bushes that are about 5 feet tall. After they bloom, can we prune them to about 3 feet? There are no leaves, just branches at that point.

You can still plant shrubs at this time of the year. Actually, it is a very good time of the year to plant because you do not have to worry about the heat of the summer. If you plant in September and October the roots still have a chance to become well established before thewinter. This is also the right time of year to prune your shrubs and cut many back. This is because it has already done its growing for the year and you will not cut off any of the buds.

The proper tool for most pruning is a sharp clean set of bypass pruners. Anvil pruners should not be used for roses as they crush the stem being cut. A saw or lopping shears may be used to cut very large canes (1/2 inch diameter or greater) All pruning cuts on canes greater than 1/4 inch diameter should be sealed with nail polish or glue to prevent cane borers from entering. Proper pruning will help keep a rose bush healthy.

The flowering stage occurs when the anthers of the terminal spikelets protrude and shed pollen. It occurs 25 days after visual panicle initiation regardless of the variety.

Answer: Pruning is a dwarfing, stimulating and stressful event. It's best to start most pruning January or February. However, diseased or dead limbs and root suckers can be removed at any time. In the fall plants are slowing down and entering a dormant period. The dormant period is a physiological stage where buds cannot be forced to grow even under ideal conditions. Trees and shrubs are moving compounds from the leaves and branches and storing carbohydrates in the trunks and roots.

Never prune when there might be frost that would kill subsequent new growth. The best time is generally March in our area.