9 Plants You Should Never Prune in Early Spring

Pruning is an important step in maintaining a healthy garden. Woody plants, including shrubs and trees, benefit from regular pruning. It helps train a plant’s shape, improves fruit and flower quality, and reduces the risk of disease. 

Pruning involves cutting parts of your plant off with disinfected shears or pruners. Once it’s cut, your plant sends energy to other parts, including its roots, stems, flower buds, and leaves. If you want your garden to shine, you’ll become an expert at pruning gently and timely. 

Some plants develop buds in the late spring for summer blooms. Others develop in the fall and bloom the following year. For these spring bloomers, it’s better to wait until after they bloom to prune them. Below are 11 plants to never prune in early spring. If you do, you’ll trim away their blooming potential. 

Azalea

	botanical name Rhododendron spp.
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 3-12’
	hardiness zones 4-8

Azaleas are some of the most popular flowering shrubs. They thrive in temperate climates and put on gorgeous multicolored blooms. Because some varieties are spring bloomers, cutting their branches in spring will disrupt the year’s blooms. 

Let them complete their blooming cycle before pruning. You can gently remove the flowers after they finish blooming or leave them to naturally fall off. After the flowers die, clip away excess foliage and stems up to one-third of the stem’s length. 

With azaleas, knowing which variety and species you have and when it blooms is important. With spring blooming varieties, wait until the flowers are gone to prune towards late spring. 

Lilac

	botanical name Syringa spp.
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 3-30’
	hardiness zones 3-7

Lilacs are stunning flowering shrubs that put on beautiful displays of fragrant blooms. Since arriving in North America in the 17th century, they’ve become a gardener’s favorite in colder climates. In my Michigan garden, they’re one of my favorite plants to enjoy before summer. 

Prune your lilacs immediately after their flowers finish blooming and die back. Clip dead branches back around one-third of their length. Be careful not to wait too long. Next year’s new buds will start forming immediately after this year’s finish. 

Prune the sides a little deeper and leave more growth towards the center. This will encourage big, beautiful foliage to grow upright instead of dropping down towards the base. Take out any hardwood or branches that look diseased or dead. This will encourage vigorous growth during the summer. 

Oakleaf Hydrangeas

	botanical name Hydrangea quercifolia
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 2-12’
	hardiness zones 5-9

Oakleaf Hydrangeas are majestic flowering shrubs that produce big clusters of cream-colored, white, or pink flowers and oak-like leaves. They thrive in many temperature areas of the US from the Midwest to the Carolinas. 

They put on their impressive displays in early and mid-spring. Afterward, their blooms will slowly die back until the following season. With these flowers, you don’t necessarily have to prune them. If you do, just take off a minimal amount of foliage after they bloom. 

Oakleaf hydrangeas produce their flower buds on old wood, which is grown from the previous season. These buds will slowly build and overwinter until the following spring. 

Forsythia

	botanical name Forsythia spp.
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 2-10’
	hardiness zones 5-9

Forsythia’s give your garden a huge rush of yellow flowers in the early to late spring. They thrive in many regions of the US and make perfect hedges and natural fences. Like other spring flowers, wait until they finish blooming before pruning. 

These magnificent shrubs can grow quickly and look untidy if you leave them alone. Pruning helps shape them into beautiful forms. It also encourages condensed clusters of flowers to form on healthy branches. 

The only time to prune them in early spring is if you want to force indoor blooms. This involves pruning a few healthy stems in late winter and early spring and getting them to bloom indoors. You can place the flowering stems in vases or use them in colorful spring wreaths. 

Deutzia

	botanical name Deutzia spp.
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 1-10’
	hardiness zones 5-8

Deutzias are amazing flowering shrubs that are native to East Asia. Although they’re not as popular here in the U.S., many gardeners, including myself, have fallen in love with them. They produce tons of colorful and fragrant flower clusters on their stems in spring. Of the over 60 species and multiple cultivars, there are almost endless variations. 

One of the best things about these flowers is their low-maintenance appeal. You won’t have to prune much at all. If you do, wait until after they finish blooming. 

Remove dead or deformed branches and out-of-control growth. Don’t worry about deadheading. The flowers will naturally drop after they bloom.  

Dogwood

	botanical name Cornus florida
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 15-35’
	hardiness zones 5-9

Dogwoods are stunning North American flowering trees that bloom before the summer. Like other spring-blooming trees, prune them in the winter when they’re dormant. Alternatively, prune them lightly just after they bloom in late spring or early summer.

Prune dead and deformed wood or anything that looks diseased. Use disinfected pruners or sheers to prevent pests or diseases from infecting your tree. These flowering trees need regular pruning to look their best. 

With regular maintenance, they’ll produce stunning white or pink flowers and thrive in shady areas under tall canopies. Try growing them under tall trees and forests for layers of color in the spring. They thrive in most regions of the US, especially the East Coast. 

Winter Daphne

	botanical name Daphne odora
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3-6’
	hardiness zones 7-9

Winter daphnes make spectacular hedges, with fragrant flowers that explode in the late winter and early spring. Their white and pink flowers are some of the most fragrant blooms you can have in your garden. Because they’ll last long into spring, it would be a shame to prune them while they’re still in bloom. 

Wait until the summer to prune these shrubs, after their aromatic blooms have faded. You don’t have to trim much, these plants prefer to be left alone. Prune areas with long leggy growth and any parts with diseases. 

They bloom from January to March in mild zone 7 to 9 climates. If you live in the Southeast US, Texas, and Oregon, you’ll be able to grow abundant winter daphnes. 

Clematis

	botanical name Clematis spp.
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height Up to 30’
	hardiness zones 3-9

Clematis flowers are stunning flowering vines that bloom in late winter and early spring. Some varieties bloom later in spring. For these flowers, it’s best to prune them back after their blooming period. 

Pruning is important for these fast-growing flowers. Some gardeners view these plants as magical flowers, only to struggle to keep up with their maintenance. They explode in growth and can overpower your garden if you don’t give them heavy pruning. 

If you grow them along the sides of your home, you can get away with pruning once a year. If you want them in your garden as a controlled vine, twice a year after blooming is ideal. 

Beauty Bush

	botanical name Kolkwitzia amabilis
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 6-10’
	hardiness zones 4-8

Beauty bush is a wonderful member of the honeysuckle family that thrives in zones 4 to 8. It’s a fantastic spring bloomer, with bell-shaped pink and white flowers. The blooms appear on old growth, so cutting the growth back too aggressively or too early is not ideal.