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PRUNING: A minimal amount of pruning is required for all plant material during the first year of establishment. Pruning the first year, in most cases, can be limited to removing dead or damaged branches. Periodic inspection and immediate removal of injured branches can prevent future insect and disease

problems. Pruning tools must be clean and sharp to ensure smooth cuts. After the first year, the following guidelines should be observed for pruning.

• Deciduous Trees: Light pruning of deciduous trees without showy flowers (Maples, Ash, Yellowwood, Quaking Aspen, Ginkgo, Lindens, Elm, etc) can be done throughout the growing season. Heavy pruning should be done when the tree is dormant, the best time being late fall or winter. Only prune oaks in late winter; oaks are very susceptible to oak wilt if trimmed at others times. Likewise, Honeylocust trees should only be trimmed late winter as well, as they are less susceptible to canker then. Flowering trees (Hawthorns, Flowering Crabapples, Magnolias, Flowering Plums, Flowering Cherries, Serviceberry, etc) should be trimmed immediately after flowering.
• Evergreen Trees and Shrubs: Prune evergreens only in June and July, after the new spring growth has hardened off. Pruning too late in the season may cause damage to the plant.
• Deciduous Shrubs: In general, these shrubs can be trimmed late fall through early spring before leafing out, and/ or right after flowering, such as dogwoods, barberry, spirea, shrub roses, sumac, viburnum, hydrangeas, burning bush, etc. Some shrubs, however, bloom on old wood, meaning you have a short window in which to prune them—otherwise you are cutting off the flowers for next year. Included in this group are lilacs, mockorange, weigela, chokeberry, forsythia, “old-fashioned” spireas (the large white ones that only bloom in spring), rhododendrons, and azaleas–trim these plants immediately after they bloom.
• Perennials & Ornamental Grasses: In general, perennials and ornamental grasses should be cut back to the ground in early spring (March – early April). Many perennials also benefit from a couple “deadhead” prunings throughout the season. This encourages the perennials to flower more, so if you have the time, you’ll be rewarded with renewed blooming. Plants in this group include hardy geranium (cranesbill), coreopsis, achillea (yarrow), asters, mums, gaillardia, daylilies, nepeta (catmint), phlox, etc.

FERTILIZING: Fertilizing once a year whether the plants seem to need it or not will be beneficial and should be considered. Follow manufacturer’s instructions as to frequency and amount for your fertilizer of choice.

WATERING: In the first years of establishment, if there has been no substantial precipitation (meaning two weeks without an inch or more of rainfall), trees, shrubs, and perennials may need to be watered. Monitoring of this is crucial.

WEEDING: Even though trees and shrubs are usually mulched with shredded hardwood or rock, the beds and tree rings will need to be monitored for competitive weed growth. Re-mulching 1-2 times per year will reduce the weeding considerably; all that would need to be done would be spot-weeding.

MULCHING: Trees and shrubs should be monitored for loss of mulch. Re-mulch as needed; generally shredded hardwood needs to be refreshed once a year.

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