Which plants, trees, etc usually need pruning back before Sring?

Can anyone please explain also about these plants growing on old wood and new wood?



I understand that "Crepe Myrtles" are growing off new wood, but they also grow off old wood as well?



Butterfly Bushes?



Hydrangeas?



???
Which plants, trees, etc usually need pruning back before Sring?
Butterfly bushes, vitex and crape myrtles can be cut way back each year, almost to the ground. I usually leave them a foot tall. They will bloom on new wood each year.



Crape myrtles may be cut back or not, depending on your preference. If you like them tall, leave them, if you want to control the height, cut them back. Cut back any wood that has been killed by the winter. They are root hardy to zone 5 but may not be top hardy.



Hydrangeas that are pink or blue should never be cut back except to take out dead wood: they bloom on old wood, that is wood that has grown the previous season. If you need to cut them back, do it right after they finish blooming.



White hydranges like Annabelle can be cut to the ground each year, or not. They will be huge and beautiful if you don't about 3 feet if you do. Other white hydrangeas have different requirements, find out what yours is and google it for correct pruning advice. I never cut back my oak leaf hydrangea except to take off the old flower heads.



The rule of thumb for most other shrubs is to cut them back right after they finish blooming, if you want to control them. I cut back summer blooming spireas in early spring, forsythia in early summer, ditto azaleas, dogwoods never except for the shrubby kind which is also pruned back in early summer. Try googling pruning trees and shrubs for more complete information.
Reply:If a shrub flowers in spring, then it's on wood that it grew LAST year ie Old Wood. These, you trim back after flowering (obviously). Usually these will want a hard prune, sometimes just above the ground if it's vigorous, (buddleia- butterfly bush) )so that it puts out loads of wood this year, to flower on NEXT year.

Are you with this?

Or, if it flowers after spring, then it'll flower on wood that it's just grown, NEW wood, and you prune them BEFORE they flower ie in spring, so that they have chance to put out new wood in order to flower later in the same season (hydrangea).

Does this make sense?

It's really simple if you can understand that you prune to get the best show, and you understand WHEN it flowers.

hope this helps.
Reply:It is not whether they grow on old wood, it is whether they bloom on old wood. Azaleas and camellias bloom on old wood, so if you prune them now, you will be cutting off the blooms that formed last year (they formed flower buds after they bloomed last year). Roses, crape myrtles and butterfly bushes all bloom on new wood, and now is a good time to prune them. You don't HAVE to prune them, they will bloom just fine regardless. But since they have no leaves it is easier to do so now and doesn't hurt anything. Furthermore, once your roses, crapemyrtles and butterfly bushes start blooming, you can keep pruning them all through the blooming season. Not hard pruning, but just keep cutting the blooms off, this will encourage more blooms.

I think most hydrangeas bloom on new wood, but there could be some that don't. I think macrophylla, the typical blue hydrangea, can be treated like a rose or a buddlea. Lacecap and oakleaf may be different. Go easy on them, most people cut them back unnecessarily. Most people prune crapemyrtles too hard as well. Let the plant grow, just cut out the dead, dying or deranged (crossing) branches. Have fun!
Reply:all evergreens
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