I have a last-minute gardening tip for you! According to my gardening mentor, Mr. Neighbor, July 4th is the last day of the year to trim any bushes/hedges that will be blooming next spring. So for all of us who live in the Deep South, this means that we have T-Minus 6 days to get our azaleas trimmed!
My gardening guru neighbor says that anything trimmed after July 4th will not bloom properly the following spring. And for those of you who have followed my previous gardening blog posts (Vegetable Gardening According to the Moon, How to Make a Compost Bin, Tips for a Successful Backyard Vegetable Garden), you know that Mr. Neighbor is always right on the money when it comes to gardening know-how!
Yikes! These azaleas are long overdue for some trimming!
It’s hot and humid out there, but it is well worth the effort to go ahead and prune your bushes. Your yard will look more well-kept, and next spring you will have a beautiful, healthy harvest of flowering shrubs!
Much better! It didn’t take that long, and now our hedges will be beautiful for next spring!
Jennifer
June 28, 2013 at 11:48 am (11 years ago)A caveat is for hydrangeas. Some varieties can be pruned pretty much any time. Mophead hydrangeas, your classic hydrangeas that form a big puffball, have to be pruned in summer, but not this early. You can prune these later, as long as it’s before August, because next year’s blooms grow on old growth. I don’t know about you, but mine are still blooming like crazy right now and I am not willing to cut all those gorgeous blue blooms off! Perhaps in another 3-4 weeks, it will be time.
Lauren Souers
June 28, 2013 at 4:41 pm (11 years ago)Jennifer,
I completely agree! This post was written with spring-blooming plants in mind (azaleas, snowballs, etc…). I have a backyard full of blooming hydrangeas as well, and would never dream of pruning them at the moment! Thank you, though, for the concern…I always appreciate reader comments! 🙂