Hedges can take gentle pruning
Question: Our mature shrubs have just gone through a summer growth spurt that seems to be unusual compared to previous summers. This new growth makes the shrubs and area look overgrown and neglected. Can I do some light to moderate pruning on them now, or should I wait for colder weather later? Our Coppertone hedge is also really overgrown. Can I now do some selected heavy top branch pruning to get them back to a more reasonable size?
You can do light pruning nearly any time or hedging if you need to. Reserve heavier pruning for the winter months.
On fruit trees, it is a common practice to summer prune in April. This is focused only on growth that has occurred in the spring and does not include cutting into growth from previous years. Summer pruning has a dwarfing effect on trees and shrubs and helps to keep them small.
Bob Morris is a professor emeritus in horticulture with the University of Nevada and can be reached at extremehort@aol.com. Visit his blog at xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com.