Your December Pruning Guide: Which Trees & Shrubs Need Trimming This Month

Your December Pruning Guide: Which Trees & Shrubs Need Trimming This Month

Welcome to your essential December Pruning Guide! As the last leaves fall and the garden slumbers, December presents a unique opportunity for horticultural tasks. For many plants, dormant season pruning is not just beneficial but crucial for their health, structure, and future fruit or flower production. This guide will help you navigate the often-confusing world of winter pruning, ensuring your garden is set up for success come spring.

Why Prune in December?

December, being a period of dormancy for most deciduous plants, offers several advantages for pruning:

• Reduced Stress: Plants are not actively growing, meaning less stress from the removal of branches.

• Clearer Visibility: Without leaves, it’s easier to see the plant’s structure, identify crossing branches, diseased limbs, and areas that require attention.

• Disease Prevention: Pruning during dormancy reduces the risk of transmitting diseases that are active during warmer months.

• Wound Healing: While wounds won’t heal immediately, they are less susceptible to infection in cold weather.

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Which Plants Benefit from December Pruning?

Not all plants are candidates for pruning in December. Focus on the following:

Fruit Trees

• Apple and Pear Trees: These are prime candidates for winter pruning. Removing dead, damaged, or diseased branches is always a priority. You can also start shaping young trees and improving the structure of mature ones by removing crossing branches and water sprouts. Pruning now encourages strong growth and fruit production next season.

• Stone Fruits (Cherries, Plums, Peaches): While some sources suggest pruning these in late winter or early spring to avoid disease, light pruning to remove dead or diseased wood can be done in December if necessary. For significant structural pruning, consider waiting until late winter.

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Ornamental Trees and Shrubs

• Wisteria: December is an excellent time for a second pruning of wisteria. After the summer growth spurt, this pruning focuses on shortening the side shoots that developed during the growing season. This encourages the plant to put energy into developing flower buds for the next spring.

• Many Deciduous Shrubs: Shrubs that bloom on old wood (e.g., Forsythia, Lilac) should generally not be pruned in winter, as this can remove flower buds. However, shrubs grown primarily for their structure, bark color, or that have finished their cycle can be pruned. This includes removing dead, damaged, or crossing branches on plants like Roses (though many prefer late winter/early spring) and general tidying of overgrown deciduous shrubs.

• Roses: While some types of roses benefit from winter pruning, particularly to remove dead or diseased wood, it’s often recommended to wait until late February or early March in many climates to avoid frost damage to newly cut areas. However, if there are clearly broken or diseased branches, removing them now is advisable.

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Conifers

Most conifers require minimal pruning and are best left alone in December. If you need to remove dead or damaged branches, do so carefully. Major shaping or size reduction is usually best done in late spring or early summer.

What to Avoid Pruning in December

• Plants that Bloom on Old Wood: Shrubs like Forsythia, Lilac, and Rhododendrons should be pruned after they bloom, typically in late spring or early summer, to avoid cutting off flower buds.

• Evergreens: Most need little pruning, and heavy pruning is best done in late spring or early summer.

• Plants Prone to Frost Damage: In very cold climates, avoid making large cuts on plants that are susceptible to winter injury. Focus on removing only dead, diseased, or damaged wood.

Essential Pruning Tools and Techniques

Ensure your tools are sharp and clean to make clean cuts and prevent disease spread. Use bypass pruners for smaller branches, loppers for medium branches, and a pruning saw for larger limbs.

• Make clean cuts: Cut just above an outward-facing bud or at the branch collar.

• Remove crossing branches: Prune branches that rub against each other.

• Eliminate water sprouts: These are fast-growing, vertical shoots.

• Address diseased or dead wood: Cut back to healthy wood.

Conclusion

This December Pruning Guide provides a framework for understanding which plants in your garden can benefit from winter pruning. By focusing on dormant pruning for fruit trees, specific shrubs like wisteria, and removing problematic wood from others, you’re investing in a healthier, more productive, and more beautiful garden for the seasons ahead. Always use clean, sharp tools and assess each plant individually before making any cuts.