What to Prune in January - Alden Lane Nursery

Now is pruning time; we have a general pruning class on Saturday, January 23rd, but for the meantime, here is a short summary of what to prune now.

Basically now is the time to prune plants that are leafless but not about to bloom.

Generally, trees are pruned when they are in their most dormant state. December and January are ideal times for pruning most deciduous fruit and shade trees. The exceptions to this rule of thumb are ornamental trees and shrubs grown especially for their spring flowers. Flowering plum, peach and cherry trees, magnolia, as well as forsythia, lilac and a few others are pruned just after blooming in the spring in order to avoid removing flower buds.

Evergreen plants are best pruned in Mid February and/or Mid August just before the seasonal flush of new spring or fall growth.

Evergreen plants susceptible to frost damage such as citrus, oleander or bottlebrush should be pruned after danger of frost in early April.

Plants that sustained frost damages and look horrid now should be pruned after new growth emerges in April so you know what is dead or alive.

Feel free to bring in photos of your pruning problems and questions; we can help!

Upcoming Classes

Pruning Basics Class. Saturday, January 23rd from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for the last pruning class.

Grape Pruning. Saturday, January 23rd from 1-2 p.m., with Jim Ryan, grape & wine consultant.