When do I prune my flowering shrubs?

By Keith Funk

A:  Shrubs that flower before Memorial Day can be pruned immediately after flowering.  These shrubs include lilac, forsythia, mock orange, snowball bush, and flowering quince to name a few.  Pruning before  will remove this year’s flowers.  

Shrubs that flower after Memorial Day, like Rose of Sharon, Butterfly Bush and Blue Mist Spirea can be pruned as early as late winter.  You’ll want to finish pruning these shrubs by the time they start leafing out.

Keith Funk who is handling our Q & A this year. You may have visited one of Keith’s Denver area gardens on a tour or know him from his years at Echter’s and now at Nick’s Garden Center. For 30 years he’s been heard every Saturday morning from 7-9 with fellow Wise Guy, Jim Borland, on the Garden Wise Radio Show on Legends 810AM.