The Art of Rejuvenation Pruning: SavATree’s Guide to Healthier Shrubs and Ornamentals Pruning Trees & Shrubs Pruning is both an art and a science. Our SavATree experts explain how proper rejuvenation pruning ensures your valued shrubs and ornamentals thrive every season. Maintaining the beauty and health of your plants, shrubs, ornamental trees, and hedgerows requires regular care and attention. An essential practice our experts recommend is rejuvenation pruning—a method that promotes vigorous growth, enhances flowering, and extends the lifespan of your plants. What Is Rejuvenation Pruning? It’s a systematic approach where you remove a portion of the oldest stems or branches from a shrub each year. Instead of cutting back all growth annually, you rotate the pruning over a cycle—typically three to five years—allowing the plant to regenerate gradually. This method maintains the plant's natural shape and ensures continuous growth without causing excessive stress. Why Is Rejuvenation Pruning Important? Promotes Healthy Growth: Removing older, less productive wood stimulates the plant to produce new, vigorous shoots. Enhanced Flowering: New growth often results in more abundant and vibrant blooms, which is particularly desirable in ornamental plants. Extends Plant Lifespan: Regular pruning prevents overcrowding and reduces the risk of disease and pest infestations common in cool, moist climates. Maintains Aesthetic Appeal: Keeps shrubs and ornamentals looking neat and well-shaped at an appropriate size, enhancing your landscape's overall appearance. Protects Against Pests and Diseases: Pruning improves air circulation to prevent cooler, moist environments, which can promote fungal diseases. When to Prune Typically, flowering shrubs should be pruned just after they finish flowering to reduce cutting off the flower buds for the following year. However, rejuvenation pruning can also be done during dormancy, which minimizes stress and allows wounds to heal before pests and diseases become active. Avoid pruning during extremely cold snaps to prevent stress to your plants. Focus on Suitable Plants Shrubs like spirea, lilacs, forsythia, butterfly bush, ninebark, barberry, and many more respond exceptionally well to rejuvenation pruning. Be sure to research the specific pruning techniques for your plant to ensure the best results. When done properly, rejuvenation pruning encourages lush foliage and abundant blooms. Address Winter Damage First Before pruning, inspect your plants for winter damage. Heavy snow and ice can cause broken or damaged branches, which should be removed promptly to prevent disease entry points. After pruning, apply a fresh layer of mulch, not exceeding a depth of 3-4 inches, to retain soil moisture and regulate temperature. Why Professional Pruning Makes a Difference Incorrect pruning can harm your plants, leading to poor growth, aesthetics, or increased susceptibility to pests and diseases. You can prune yourself, but be sure to do your research before you start. If you are unsure, consider calling a professional arborist who is well-trained in this technique and method. Visit our pruning page for more instructions on how to safely and effectively prune this spring. Contact us today to schedule a consultation with an expert arborist.