3 Plants You Should Prune in April Before Spring Growth Explodes

The return of spring brings plenty of lawn work along with it—especially after a brutal winter like the one much of the U.S. just had. While you’re planting, repotting, and tidying things up for the growing season, you might want to pencil in some time for pruning. Even as they emerge from their dormant phase, some trees, bushes, shrubs, and flowers could benefit from a bit of manicuring before the real temperature rise. Here are the plants you should prune in April before spring growth explodes.

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If you were paying attention a few months ago, you hopefully caught our advice to plant flowering dogwood in November to allow for some truly stunning spring blossoms. But even if you’ve already had them planted on your property for years, you shouldn’t prune some varieties until spring comes around.

Specifically, red-twig and yellow-twig dogwoods are best left uncut until their dazzling spring flowers have already faded, per HGTV. Ultimately, you can keep them looking their most colorful by ensuring you remove any branches that are more than three years old.

Arguably the most famous of all blossoms, most gardeners strive to give their rosebushes the best chances of bringing forth beautiful flowers. And for those in the know, that includes clipping come springtime.

For most climates, March and early April represent the sweet spot between the last frost and budding that takes place, according to Homes & Gardens. In fact, timing is of the essence, as waiting too long can actually delay the blooms’ arrival by a month or more.

“‘Remove any dead or damaged canes [e.g., dead and woody stems] and open up the center of the plant to improve airflow and sunlight penetration,” Wes Harvell, rosarian and horticulturist with famed nursery Jackson & Perkins, told the publication.

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For many, home gardens don’t feel quite full until their hydrangeas have come into full bloom. But if you’re hoping to get the most out of your bushes, you’ll want to grab your shears sooner rather than later and get to work.

Experts point out that March represents what is likely the last time you’ll have to trim back these varieties of the flowering favorites, which bloom on new wood as the weather warms up, per Gardening Know How. In fact, clipping at the right time can increase your blooms twofold, so take care to shape and size your plants before it’s too late. In some cases, this means cutting back old stems to healthy buds.

Just because you’ve managed to get your pruning shears out, sanitized, and ready doesn’t mean you should get too cut crazy. In fact, there are a handful of popular plants that are best left untouched for the rest of the season.

Flowers, trees, and shrubs like forsythia, rhododendrons, magnolia, weigela, columbine, lilac, and more have important functions or undergo significant changes during the spring, according to MarthaStewart.com. In these cases, it’s often best to wait until after flowering to trim them back, but consider researching the specific species and how it behaves in your local climate to determine the best course of action.