I hope that you have your pruning shears well oiled and well sharpened. I also hope they are stashed in your garage or basement where they are out of sight and out of mind. Except for cleaning up storm damage your plants would favor a vacation for the shears lasting from mid August until after Christmas, maybe a bit longer.

From a disease and insect point of view, the quicker your pruning cuts heal, the better. Healing occurs quickest on an actively growing plant.

Pruning reduces winter hardiness. That does not matter if we are growing plants native to the Arctic, but since we grow many plants that are more marginal for our climate, winter hardiness is always an issue.

With our winters, we can expect wind every year and occasionally temperatures under zero. Either of these conditions can work against our plants. Why not wait until the worst of winter is over to evaluate winter damage and prune accordingly?

First on the list to prune are short needled evergreens and fruit trees, like apples and pears. When I had 30 acres of apples I would start just after Thanksgiving so I could complete the job. Christmas tree growers are busy in the middle of the winter. If I had just several of any of the above I would finish by the end of February.

If I had grapes or blueberries I would think about late February or early March. I would also think about pruning deciduous (lose their leaves) trees in this time slot. Ideally, they are pruned just before the sap starts to rise to reduce bleeding at the cuts.

Tender fruit trees are pruned best about bloom time. These include peaches, cherries, nectarines, and plums. The ones with just one seed are the tender ones.

Summer flowering shrubs should wait until after you have assessed the winter damage. Then prune to thin, shape and mitigate the winter damage. Since the late summer bloomers bloom on new wood, you can prune these hard if you wish.

Last spring was a bit unusual. After a colder winter, the normal March warming came only to be followed by two days of wind and freezing temperatures. This did a number on many shrubs. It was lethal to many butterfly bushes, especially those that had been pruned.

Those of us that were dismayed by these events and puzzled what to do were greatly rewarded as shrubs and trees recovered remarkably well. It was mid to late May until this event played itself out.

My bottom line with the fall bloomers is to wait and wait. I like mid April, even a bit later.

This is getting a bit long so I will quit after adding briefly that the spring bloomers are best pruned immediately after bloom to give the plant plenty of time to form buds for next year.