Cutting bushes: tips on timing & procedure

Every shrub has different demands on its care. We show when the best time has come to cut the individual bushes and give tips on how to proceed correctly when cutting.

With their appearance, their fruit and their flowers, bushes enrich the aesthetics of our garden, our menu and the menu of wild animals and insects. However, it may be necessary to cut a bush for various reasons. Perhaps your shrub or bush has grown too big, is not blooming properly or contains a lot of dead wood. You may also ask yourself the following questions: Until when can you cut bushes and trees? And how does the professional cut actually work? We explain the legal situation, explain the correct pruning techniques and give examples of different shrubs.

What is a shrub?

Plants that are perennial, completely lignified and have multiple shoots are called shrubs. With this definition, shrubs can be clearly differentiated from trees that, although also lignified, grow with only one main shoot - the trunk. Typical examples of shrubs are the rose, the Witch hazel, the Gooseberry, the hazelnut or also the liguster. Shrubs are planted purely as ornament or as a hedge to protect against privacy. Often, however, the fruit or flower of the shrub also plays a role, as is the case with currant, Blueberry or elder is the case. Because many shrubs are valuable nesting opportunities and sources of food for animals, they are also often used for the ecological enhancement of gardens and landscapes.

The best time to cut shrubs

Many hobby gardeners are unsure when it comes to when to cut a swage. And that is no wonder: It is not even possible to determine a common best time for cutting for all shrubs. Shrubs belong to a wide variety of plant families, are evergreen or summer green and bloom or fruit at different times. If you want to cut all your shrubs in autumn, this may be ideal for some to stimulate growth in the following year. Other shrubs, on the other hand, reward a cut in autumn with frostbite in winter or poor bloom in spring. So that you can find the right cut date for your shrubs, we have put together for you below when it is best to cut bushes.

shrub	meeting	Reason
Spring bloomer	Immediately after flowering	Pruning later in the year would remove flower buds
Summer bloomer	December to March	Cut for thinning, stimulating new growth, rejuvenation, often promotes stronger blooming
Fruit trees	December to March	Parenting, rejuvenation, promotion of new fruit wood
Fruit trees summer pruning	July to September	Promotes fruit quality and color, not absolutely necessary
Hedge cut deciduous trees	December to March, June to August	Cut to stimulate the branching of the hedge, also possible twice a year if necessary
Roses	After flowering, before 15. July	To maintain frost resistance, for renewed flowering or to stimulate flower bud formation for the following year

Most shrubs do not have to and should not be pruned annually. Such shrubs, which have to be cut annually, are more of the exception that you will get to know in the course of this article. Aside from the correct time of pruning during the year, two general rules apply when it comes to the date to cut the bushes:

1. Do not prune shrubs if frost or extreme heat is expected in the following week.
2. Do not cut in the blazing sun. An overcast, slightly cooler day, with a little rain, is ideal. You should also avoid cutting bushes in frost, as this can damage the cut wood.

Tip: When is it allowed to cut the bushes? According to the Federal Nature Conservation Act, gentle shape and care cuts can be carried out all year round. Very strong interventions in the old wood and cutting down to just above the ground are only possible between the 1st October and 28/29 February allowed.

This is how you cut back bushes

Even if bushes have a typical, shrub-like habit, the correct cut is different from plant to plant and also depends on the goal of the cut.

• Hedges, topiary and ground cover are regularly cut superficially into shape in order to achieve dense branching. There is no cutting inside.
• Shrubs, the shoots of which arise from the base as the hazelnut, Forsythia, Deutzie and Philadelphus are only thinned out close to the ground. The stiff shoots are not pruned in height and at the tips as far as possible. Only saws, loppers and rose shears are used. In addition, dead wood is cut out.
• Shrubs that branch out halfway up like the weigela, the dogwood or the rhododendron, are illuminated inside and rarely also at the base. The tips of the shoots remain untouched. Only saws, loppers and rose shears are used. In addition, dead wood is cut out.

The rule is that the cut of a shrub should pick up on its normal growth - in such a way that a good cut is not obvious at first glance due to its unnatural nature falls.

Tip: Frequent pruning errors in shrubs
A bad pruning completely ignores the growth habit of a shrub. Good examples are the dice and bobbed heads, also known as the “caretaker's cut”. Each shrub is transformed into a topiary with the hedge trimmer. Unfortunately, however, not every type of shrub is suitable for topiary and acknowledges the cut with an unsightly, unnatural growth, a greatly reduced approach of flower and fruit and a broom-like shoot in the Following year.

Cut ornamental shrubs

When cutting ornamental shrubs you can stick to the times and cutting rules mentioned above. Of course, there are some special cases that we would like to present to you in detail here.

Ornamental shrubs that need annual pruning

Some ornamental shrubs have to be pruned annually. As a rule, these are frost-prone shrubs that get frostbitten anyway in winter. The following shrubs absolutely need such a cut:

• Butterfly lilac (Buddleja davidii)
• Beard flowers (Caryopteris)
• Sacrum flower (Ceanothus americanus - hybrids)
• Scarlet fuchsia (Fuchsia magellanica)
• Many St. John's wort species (Hypericum)
• Five-finger herb (Potentialla fruticosa)
• Silver bush (Perovskia abrotanoides)
• Roses (pink): Hybrid tea roses, bed roses, shrub roses, historical roses

In March it is checked which shoots show frost damage and are therefore no longer sprouting normally. These are then removed at the base or cut down to the point where a healthy, strong side shoot or an undamaged bud emerges.

Cut evergreen shrubs

The so-called hidden cut is carried out on evergreen shrubs. It bears this name because the cuts - provided they have been done well - are barely visible. They lie inside the shrub and hidden behind leaves. Basically, it is cut in such a way that no bare "stumps" remain. A cut is always made above an existing side shoot or the entire branch is completely removed. In this way, bushes can be discreetly exposed and reduced in size.
Evergreen shrubs can be a bit bitchy as bushes, which is why you will find important tips for the correct pruning of the green beauties below.

Yew trees (Taxus): Very cut compatible and suitable as a topiary or hedge. No pruning necessary when growing freely. Tree-shaped training is also possible through pruning. Best cutting time: March to July. Heavy pruning into the old wood is well tolerated in March.

Spruce trees (Picea): Difficult as a hedge or topiary because it is not easy to cut. The annual cut between August and September or February and March provides a remedy. The youngest shoots are shortened by hand just above the clearly visible buds. A cut in the old wood leads to unpredictable and uneven growth.

Heather (Erica, Calluna): Cut back immediately after flowering. The hedge trimmer only cuts a few centimeters from above. Late blooming Common heather (Calluna) should not be cut until spring. The cut promotes flower formation in the following year. Heavy pruning is not tolerated.

Pine trees (Pinus): Difficult as a hedge and topiary because it grows unevenly. The annual pruning at the beginning of June provides a remedy: The youngest shoots are shortened by half by hand. However, the pine hedge is always quite irregular - that's part of its charm. No pruning is recommended when growing freely. Cutting into old wood is not tolerated. Best time to cut: March to June (unless there are birds breeding in the hedge!) Or in September. No pruning necessary when growing freely. Cutting into old wood is poorly tolerated.

Tree of Life and False Cypress (Thuja, Chamaecyparis, Cupressozyparis): Are usually cut as hedges or pillars, then flat cut with hedge trimmers. Care must be taken to ensure that the branches that remain still retain green needles or scales. For more information, see the special article on the Cutting the tree of life.

Rhododendrons (rhododendron): After the flowers have faded, the old fruit clusters are broken out in order to increase the number of flowers in the following year. Rhododendrons are easy to cut and can be cut back into the old wood if necessary. If the shape is only to be retained, only the young, green shoots should be cut above the clearly visible buds. The best time to cut is March. Do you want to know more? Our special article for cutting rhododendrons can certainly help you.

Tip: Can conifers be cut back into the old wood?
The answer here is a resounding no. Most of the conifers and especially spruce (Picea), Fir trees (Abies) and Douglas firs (Pseudotsuga), but also trees of life (Thuja) and false cypress trees (Chamaecyparis) as well as many other softwoods do not tolerate heavy pruning in the old wood. Strongly cut shoots are unable to sprout again, dry up and die. The damage caused in this way cannot be repaired. An exception is the yew tree, which is extremely easy to cut (Taxus) represent.

Cut roses

Two types of pruning are performed on roses: pruning between March and April and summer pruning in July and August. The date in March / April is the right time for almost all roses to stimulate growth and flowering for the new year with a strong, deep pruning. Even if the rose has not suffered much damage from the winter frost, it is still cut just above the second to third bud - seen from the ground. Exempt from this practice are Wild roses, Ground cover roses and Climbing roses. And also for Tree roses special rules apply. The summer pruning in July / August promotes the abundant bloom of roses. Only the bloomed inflorescences or entire young shoots can be removed. From the 15th In July, however, the shoots should not be cut, otherwise the winter hardiness of the rose will suffer.

Tip: cut climbing roses and park roses
Roses that bloom once - often the historical varieties - and climbing roses should only be cut when they get out of shape. Some of them bloom on two-year-old wood that would be completely lost if radically cut back.
The cut of the rose queen is a science in itself. You can therefore find more detailed information in the special article on the subject "Cut roses".

Cut berry bushes correctly

As with the time of cutting, berry bushes have different requirements than most bushes when it comes to the right technique. Prune berry bushes as follows:

• Currants (Ribes): After the harvest, older shoots (from 4 years) near the ground are removed. at Black currants Younger shoots are also shortened, but not completely cut off. You can find details in the special article on the Cutting currants.
• Blackberries (Rubus fruticosus): The older, two-year-old shoots can be cut down after harvest, but perennial fruiting is also possible. You can find more detailed information in the special article on Cutting blackberries.
• Raspberries (Rubus idaeus): After the harvest, worn rods are cut off on the ground. Twice-bearing varieties are not cut until March. You will find many practical tips in the special article on Cutting raspberries.
• Gooseberries (Ribes uva-crispa): The older shoots (older than 2 years) can be cut, the younger ones are left to stand. Cut the bushes so that there is enough space between the branches for picking - this makes picking easier and prevents injuries to the spines. If you would like to know more, take a look at the special article on Cutting gooseberries past.
• Blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum): Older, gray branches and thin branches are removed annually, so that a few strong old biennial and annual branches remain. Are you looking for practical, detailed instructions, you will find them in our special article on Cutting blueberries and blueberries.

Do not cut shrubs or cut them seldom

Wild trees, whether free-standing or in wild hedges, should be cut rarely or not at all. These provide shelter and food for birds, mammals and insects. Even solitary, so individually standing trees do not have to be cut - so over the years the whole beauty of its very own, natural shape unfolds. In general, most ornamental shrubs will show their best behavior without a cut. The prerequisite for this is, of course, that the individual trees and shrubs have been given sufficient space when they are planted. Even if the existing space is a little tight, a pruning is sufficient for many shrubs. So it is only cut if the plant disturbs, gets out of shape or becomes lazy to flower.

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