November 13, 2015 - As winter approaches, the days get shorter. We are cut back on the number of daylight hours we have to work outside. We probably each need to consider cutting back on our work activities so that we can spend time with friends and family during the holidays.
And I start getting calls on cutting back trees and shrubs. In general the dead of winter is a great time to cut back on most trees and shrubs. They are in their dormant stage and can take it quite well. If you are itching to start now, I’d encourage you to wait a little longer. These last waning days of autumn still give our perennial plants time to store up reserves in their roots. This storage of energy allows them to emerge strongly in the coming spring.
Typically I encourage folks to wait until after the holidays have passed before you do any serious pruning. Serious pruning can be defined as cutting back more than one third of a plant. Caretakers of the SFA arboretum taught me that you can typically cut back perennials by a third anytime during the growing season so long as you do not do so during time so great duress – such as in the middle of a drought. Many blooming plants will often re-bloom wonderfully with a light topping throughout the summer.
Winter pruning of most shrubs such as roses can be done anytime during the winter according to a regionally known horticulturalist, Felder Rushing. In Rushing’s excellent book, Tough Plants for Southern Gardens, he says there are really no rules across the board for pruning roses. He says to forget any specific rules you may have heard over the years and simply cut back all the stems of repeat blooming varieties by half!
Regarding landscape trees, let me first share some wisdom that I heard many years ago from renowned Dallas horticulturalist, Neil Sperry, “no plant absolutely has to be pruned.” A plant will grow naturally so long as it has water, sunlight and nutrients.
We choose to prune back trees and shrubs because a branch is in the way or because we simply desire a certain shape or perhaps more blooms.
So, what about the crepe myrtle? Crepe myrtles are beautiful plants that can be categorized as large shrubs or small trees. Many standard varieties can reach 20 feet, 25 feet or even 30 feet tall. If you desire a smaller variety, there are dwarf types that grow only to four feet and even miniatures that stop at one to two feet in height.
