Can you trim bushes in the summer

Some deciduous shrubs don't produce attractive flowers. These shrubs may possess colorful bark, fruit, or foliage. Prune these shrubs in late winter or early spring before growth begins. Do not prune deciduous shrubs in late summer. Pruning shrubs in August or early September may encourage a late flush of growth.

This new growth may not harden sufficiently before the arrival of cold weather and be susceptible to winter injury. Principles of Pruning: When and Why to Prune. Priniciples of Pruning: Making a Good Cut. Prinicples of Pruning: Included Bark. Prune evergreen shrubs, such as juniper and yew, in late March or early April before new growth begins.

Light pruning may also be done in mid-summer. Avoid pruning evergreen shrubs in the fall. Fall pruned evergreens are more susceptible to winter injury. February through March is generally regarded as the best time to prune most deciduous trees. The absence of foliage at this time of year gives the individual a clear view of the tree and allows the selection and removal of appropriate branches. You could also use secateurs, or a pruning saw for thick branches.

How to do it: prune out new excess growth. The aim is to create space that will allow more light and air in through the tree. This will help the fruit to ripen. You could also use loppers, a pruning saw or long-reach pruners. Read more about pruning fruit trees in summer.

How to do it: Clip slow-growing beech, hornbeam or box at the start and end of the summer. Trim fast-growing privet every six weeks. You could also use secateurs or topiary shears for small hedges. Read more about pruning beech and hornbeam hedges.

Many climbers need to be summer pruned to keep their growth under control and stopping them outgrowing their allotted space. The stems of climbers such as honeysuckle are short lived, so prune out some of these older stems to avoid a bare base with flowers only at the top.

You can prune these bushes after flowering to improve their shape if you need to; you won't be removing buds they need for the next growing season, but summer pruning of these shrubs will still decrease foliage growth.

Pruning hedges needs to be a consistent process to make sure that the hedges fill in; if they grow too fast without pruning, they will be long and leggy. This requires summer pruning. The best time to prune boxwoods that have been sheared into formal hedges is in the spring after new growth begins, then throughout the spring and summer growing season to keep the hedges filling in and to maintain the manicured look.

Be sure to prune before the hedge grows 6 to 8 inches from the last pruning. Informal hedges that do not need to maintain a careful shape should be pruned when the hedge is dormant, then again mid-summer. Cutting back plants in summer has a host of benefits, not least in helping to restrict the size of your plants and stopping them outgrowing their allotted space.

It can also promote future flowering and fruiting. Many fruit trees including apples , crab apples , medlars and mulberries produce a crop on short flowering spurs along the bottom half of branches. Find out how to prune fruit trees in summer. Trees in the cherry family Prunus are prone to silver leaf disease. Pruning in summer helps to avoid infection, as the fungal spores are airborne between September and May.

This is also the time to prune out any branches that are weak, competing or crossing. Discover how to prune plants to avoid disease. After a few years, the productivity of fruit bushes like blackcurrants and jostaberries will decline. Left unpruned, fruit bushes including gooseberries , redcurrants and whitecurrants can outgrow their space.