Sterilize pruning tools before every use, and in between uses on individual shrubs, by wiping.
Apr 28, To prune lilacs, get to work in the spring: cut fresh flowers for bouquets, nip off the longest stems, and thin out any weak stems at the base.
Avoid pruning late in the summer or fall since doing so can limit future growth. Part 1 Doing an Annual Pruning75%(4). May 19, Dig down and cut them off a couple of inches below the ground. Older shrubs that have outgrown their space can be pruned hard in winter, when they are dormant.
We removed several of the largest branches that were either too close to the ground or rubbing against one another.
This diminishes the year's bloom, but a crowded shrub may not be blooming well anyway. Drastic pruning should be done in stages, taking away some of the old stems over several winters. These shrubs may possess colorful bark, fruit, or foliage. Prune these shrubs in late winter or early spring before growth begins.
Make the cut just at the base of the flowers.
Do not prune deciduous shrubs in late summer. Pruning shrubs in August or early September may encourage a late flush of growth. This new growth may not harden sufficiently before the arrival of cold weather and be susceptible to winter injury. Pruning Videos. Lilacs need a neutral soil pH, close to If your garden is like most, the pH is closer to than to You will probably need to add lime.
Call your local Extension office (ASKUGA1)) and ask them how you should bring in soil for a soil test. I found good online lilac information at The International Lilac Society and at Fox Hill. Dec 13, Pruning Vitex. Vitex is also called chaste tree (no idea why) and Texas lilac (although it’s not fragrant and is unrelated to true lilacs). When I was a kid in College Station, vitex shrubs filled corners of backyards.
City lots were much bigger then, and it wasn’t uncommon for the plants to grow 15 or 18 feet tall and 20 feet wide. DO Prune Flowering Shrubs at the Right Time of Year Spring-flowering shrubs, such as lilac and forsythia, develop buds that will display the following year during the previous year’s late summer.