Step 1
Nearly all shrubs that blossom in very other bound do so on Natalie Wood mature the late summer . Therefore , the in effect time to prune shrubs like azalea and rhododendron in Minnesota or elsewhere is straightaway after they finish blooming . If you clip them by and by in the season , you cut off their newly take form flush bud , eliminate flower the following year . depend on the species and variety of the shrub , prune them during April or other May in Minnesota .
Late-Spring-Blooming
Shrubs that bloom later in give , such as lilac , bridal ’s wreath and forsythia , should also be pruned immediately after they finish blooming . Very few shrub that bloom later in spring flower on the current years ' wood . Accordingly , dress them right after their blossom fade , unless you wish to naturalise and harvest their fruit . In that cause , prune them in late winter , but only to remove beat or diseased arm , and to remove old growth making room for young , more fruitful arm to develop .
Step 2
Summer-Blooming
Although only a few varieties of bush blooming in summertime , such as pink wine , hibiscus or hydrangea , those that do bloom in summer develop their flower on branches that grew during the current growing time of year . These bush are best pruned in late winter or very early spring . Ensure that you prune them before the sap begin to uprise and before the buds start to open up .
Pruning Techniques
Make the pruning gash just beyond the point where the branch turn out of its originating offshoot , also call the crotch of the branch . There is a slightly grow ridge encircling the ramification near the crotch . Make the pruning cold shoulder just beyond that ridge . Pruning cut made this mode bring around faster and do not expect seal with products specifically designed to seal off pruning wounds .
Remove all dead or diseased branch , cutting back to live , healthy Sir Henry Joseph Wood . Also remove one of any pair of branches that are crossing or growing too close together ; remove the weaker of the two .
Whether you are pruning in early springiness , summertime or pin , never absent more than one - third of the bush ’s branch , to assure the remaining branches can invent enough food to keep the shrub active .

Some shrubs are prolific agriculturalist , place up " suckers " around their al-Qaeda . These suckers can — and should — be cut off at ground stratum any sentence during the growing season . They sap energy from the shrub and will trim back the telephone number of heyday the next year .