Keep Your Garden Blooming and Magnolias Healthy

August is a busy month for pruning, especially if you have evergreen hedges or fruit trees. It’s also your last chance to shape wisteria and promote flowering next year.

Plants to Prune Now

• Remove spent flowers and shape plants as growth slows.
• Cut back variegated evergreens to remove green shoots.
• Prune bay trees to shorten stems.
• Deadhead summer bedding plants like zinnias.

Avoid Pruning

• Don’t trim back ivy, as it will produce valuable nectar for pollinators.
• Wait until winter to prune grapes heavily.
• Prune roses in winter or spring, except for ramblers.
• Hold off on pruning pelargoniums for a month if you want to propagate them.

Step-by-Step: Pruning Deciduous Magnolias

Magnolias don’t need much pruning, but it’s important to do it correctly to avoid unsightly growth or bleeding sap.

Step 1: Remove dead, dying, or diseased branches.

Step 2: Cut off suckers sprouting from the base of the tree.

Step 3: Gather up prunings and compost smaller shoots and leaves.

Other Trees to Prune Similarly

• Birch trees (prune in autumn)
• Acers (prune during the dormant season)