Pruning 101: When, Why, and How for Common Plants
Pruning can feel intimidating, especially when you’re holding sharp tools near your favorite plants. But when done correctly, pruning is one of the best things you can do for your garden. It promotes healthy growth, improves structure, encourages flowering and fruiting—and yes, it can even help prevent disease.
In this guide, we’ll break down the basics of pruning for vegetables, herbs, perennials, shrubs, and small trees, so you can wield those pruners with confidence.
🌱 Why Prune?
Pruning isn't just about making your plants look tidy—though that’s a nice bonus. Here’s what pruning really does:
Encourages healthier growth by removing dead, diseased, or overcrowded stems
Improves air circulation, which reduces disease risk (especially in humid Maryland summers)
Directs energy toward fruiting and flowering instead of excessive foliage
Shapes plants for better form, function, and sun exposure
Prevents overcrowding in small garden spaces or raised beds
🕰️ When to Prune
Timing depends on the plant type—and pruning at the wrong time can reduce blooms or even stress the plant. Here's a general guide:
✅ Late Winter/Early Spring (Before Bud Break)
Most deciduous shrubs and trees (e.g., viburnum, hydrangea paniculata, fruit trees)
Roses
Perennials that bloom on new wood (like butterfly bush or Russian sage)
✅ After Flowering (Spring-Blooming Shrubs)
Forsythia, lilacs, azaleas, rhododendrons
These bloom on old wood, so prune after flowers fade to avoid cutting off next year’s buds
✅ Summer
Light shaping or maintenance pruning
Deadheading annuals and perennials to prolong bloom
Harvest-pruning herbs like basil, parsley, or mint
✅ Fall
Cut back spent annuals
Avoid heavy pruning of woody plants—wait until late winter
🌿 How to Prune: The Basics
1. Use clean, sharp tools. Disinfect pruners between plants to prevent disease spread.
2. Cut at a 45-degree angle, about ¼ inch above a node (the point where leaves or stems emerge).
3. Remove the 3 D’s first:
Dead
Diseased
Damaged
4. Thin for airflow. Especially important for tomatoes, squash, and densely growing shrubs.
5. Step back and assess. Don’t overdo it—prune slowly and observe the plant’s shape as you go.
🌸 How to Prune Common Garden Plants
🍅 Tomatoes
Indeterminate varieties can benefit from “sucker” pruning (removing side shoots between main stem and leaf) but there are different schools of thought on this topic. If your goal is quantity and don’t care if the fruit is smaller, then keep the suckers and instead remove non-fruit bearing leaves just below the suckers. If you want bigger tomatoes, then remove the suckers so the plant can direct it’s energy into bigger fruits.
Improves airflow, prevents disease, and channels energy into fruit
Prune regularly once plant is 12–18” tall
🧄 Herbs (Basil, Parsley, Dill)
Pinch early and often
Harvest just above a leaf pair to encourage branching
Never take more than a third of the plant at a time
🌹 Roses
Prune in early spring when buds begin to swell
Remove old canes and shape the plant outward
Cut back to outward-facing buds
🌳 Fruit Trees (Apple, Pear)
Prune in late winter to shape and encourage fruiting
Remove crossing branches and open the canopy to light
Train young trees early for long-term success
🌿 Shrubs (Hydrangea, Forsythia, Viburnum)
Know if your shrub blooms on new or old wood
New wood = prune in late winter/early spring
Old wood = prune after flowering
🧤 Tools of the Trade
Bypass pruners: Best for clean cuts on soft stems
Loppers: For thicker branches (½" to 1.5")
Pruning saw: Needed for woody shrubs or small tree limbs
Gloves: Especially for thorny plants like roses
Disinfectant: Isopropyl alcohol or a bleach solution between cuts
🙋♀️ Common Pruning Mistakes to Avoid
Cutting too close or too far from a node
Pruning in the wrong season
Over-pruning stressed plants
Topping trees (never do this!)
Using dull or dirty tools
🌿 Pruning = Plant Confidence
Learning to prune is like learning a new language—you’ll start to see your garden differently, noticing where to cut and when. The more you practice, the more confident you’ll become. Plus, your plants will thank you with stronger growth, more flowers, and better harvests.
Want hands-on help knowing what to cut and when? Contact Grounded Gardens for a personalized coaching session in your garden. We’ll walk through your specific plants, tools, and goals together.