Are you thinking about selling your home next year? If so, there’s something you can do right now to set yourself up for success. If you have some overgrown shrubs and trees around your house, that can bring your price down. If your yard looks unkempt, buyers think the house is not well maintained. However, if you wait until a month before you sell to trim back shrubs and trees, they will look like they just got a bad haircut. Plan ahead to look your best. Now is the time to prune many trees and shrubs, but not all!

When should you prune shrubs and trees? It depends! Is it a flowering shrub or tree? If so, when does it flower? Spring or summer? Be careful not to prune at the wrong time, or you could cut off the flower buds! Keep reading to learn more.

Why Prune Shrubs and Trees?

Most shrubs and trees do not have to be pruned, but they can benefit from pruning to improve their shape and structure. Remember that pruning isn’t bad for trees; it keeps the plant stronger with less risk of disease and pests. A good haircut can make a tree look better, too!

1. Plant health is the primary reason for pruning. Look for the 4 “Ds”—dead, dying, diseased, or damaged branches—these should be removed. Also, look for spindly or weak growth, as well as any branches that are crossed or rubbing.
2. Safety is another critical issue. Low-hanging branches can be eye-pokers and get in the way when trying to work or play around a shade tree. Pruning these branches is called “limbing up.” Not only does it encourage top growth, but it also makes room for you to enjoy the area under the tree safely. If your trees have weak, dangling branches that could break off unexpectedly, they harm people, cars, buildings, and valuable plants underneath. It is best to call a professional tree trimming company if these branches are high up in the tree, very large, or near power lines.
3. Pruning can make plants hardier and help them overwinter, too.
4. Often, a plant needs pruning to control its size. Overgrown shrubs can be brought back to scale, large shade trees can be reduced enough to cast less shadow, and fruit trees can be kept to a reasonable size, making care and harvesting easier. Hedges can be maintained at the desired size and shape. Water sprouts (small, spindly branches) that grow straight up from the limbs of a fruit tree will not bear fruit and should be clipped off as they develop. This type of pruning is most important if you are thinking about selling your home in the next year. You want your plant to have time to sprout into its newly shaped form instead of looking like it just got a bad haircut.
5. For some plants, pruning encourages flowers and makes room for new growth. Of course, the bloom time is critical to know WHEN to prune. The best time to prune a flowering tree, shrub, or vine is after it finishes blooming so you don’t cut off its flowers for the season!

When to Prune Trees and Shrubs

When to prune trees and shrubs is a hot topic. There’s no question that spring is the ideal time to inspect your trees and shrubs for winter damage. But in Fall and Winter, it is much easier to see the structure of deciduous plants without their leaves, so pruning can be accomplished quickly and easily. Most trees are still dormant and will bleed less sap, and insects and diseases are less active.

The correct time to perform this pruning depends on when the plant blooms.

Non-Flowering Trees and Shrubs, and Summer-blooming shrubs

Prune non-flowering and summer-flowering woody plants while dormant in late winter (or early spring) to encourage more new wood to form. Pruning in the fall stimulates new growth when the plants try to go dormant; this weakens plants so don’t do that. These plants form flower buds on new growth next season, not last year’s old growth. Pruning summer-blooming shrubs in late winter can encourage new growth and flowers for the coming season. 

• For Zone 9 (the Puget Sound) prune in January/February during dormancy
• However, you can lightly shape hedges and conifers any time of the year. In addition, it’s okay to trim back small twigs and branches any time of year. 
• Of course, always remove dead or diseased branches as soon as you’re able to do so. Don’t leave a tree weakened by dead and dying branches.

Here are some of the shrubs and trees you might have in your yard that should be pruned in January-February.

• Beauty berries
• Hydrangea paniculata (‘Annabelle,’ ‘Limelight,’ and peegee type hydrangea)
• Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus
• Gardenia
• Clethra
• Buddleja Butterfly bush set their buds on new wood.
• Angel’s trumpet
• Crepe myrtle
• Roses
• Abelia
• Fruit trees
• Poplar, spruce, junipers, sumacs

Prune Spring-Flowering Trees and Shrubs After Bloom

Prune spring-floweringshrubs and trees right after they bloom in the spring. Do NOT prune in fall or winter. These plants develop their buds on old wood—branches that grew last year. By fall, they’ve already formed flower buds; if you cut off them, you won’t get any spring blooms. Pruning after they bloom gives new growth plenty of time to ripen before winter and bear maximum flowers next spring.

Shrubs that are spring bloomers include:

• Forsythia
• Lilac
• Azalea
• Camellias
• Oakleaf hydrangea and mophead-type hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla)
• Rhododendron
• Mountain laurel
• Loropetalum
• Dogwood
• Flowering ornamental (non-fruit producing)cherry, peach, plum, pear, crabapple
• Spirea
• Viburnum
• Maples, birches, and elm trees (wait until summer)

If you wait until after they bloom, you can deadhead and prune simultaneously. This will encourage new growth and give you more flowers next year. 

What if I missed doing this last spring, and I’m thinking about selling in the next year?

It depends when you are thinking about selling. Are you thinking about selling in spring? Then you might be better off pruning overgrown spring-flowering shrubs now. You’ll cut off some buds, but if the bushes are overgrown, it will just make your yard look more chaotic when they bloom.  If you’re thinking about selling in summer or fall then you might be able to prune after blooming this spring. But if you’re on the fence about when to sell, prune now. A tidy, trimmed yard is a best seller.

Wrap Up

If you are thinking about selling in the next year, there are many things that you can be doing now in addition to pruning to get the maximum price and make your life easier. I can help you figure out what needs to be done, and how to get it done easily. I can do a walkthrough and give you a time-tested list of best bets and the resources to get them done. Let’s chat about how to get started. Grab a slot on my calendar or drop me an email.

Thanks to Robin Sweetser for the great information she provided on https://www.almanac.com/when-prune-trees-and-shrubs