Spirea Pruning: When & How

Spirea are a little more complicated than I wish they were. Even as I’m writing this I’m having to really think about it and make sure I’m accurate in what I’m saying.

To simplify: prune right after flowering, otherwise you might be cutting off the blooms. They don’t tend to need much pruning anyway so you can pretty much leave them alone except if they get “leggy” or aren’t blooming much for you.

If you really want to get into the specifics there are two different kinds: the first are the ones that make their buds on new growth in the current year (new “wood”). These flower in the SUMMER so they could be in bloom right now. These can be cut way back in late winter/early spring and you won’t be cutting off any buds (think panicle or arborescens/smooth hydrangeas, like Annabelle or incrediball). This makes sense because they take a few months to grow those buds in the spring for the summer bloom. An added bonus is if you prune these back right away they something bloom again!

Then there are the ones that produce buds on the growth at the end of the growing season (old “wood”), like this one. These are the SPRING bloomers and these should be pruned right after they bloom or you will potentially be cutting off the buds. (Think macrophylla hydrangeas but not because you should really prune those at all). Stay with me! If you are late in this it may be best to leave them alone and wait until next year but if they’re out of control you can just go in there and take care of business.

Again, to simplify just cut back right after blooming. I hope this helps.

Location: client’s house (as always, the videos are done by clients and this was done by Catie)

About me: I’m a garden coach and consultant in zone 6 in the Boston area but almost all of the principles I talk about are applicable to any garden. Go here to schedule consultations, download pruning guides, support this free content and more: https://linktr.ee/youcandoitgardening

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