Now hear this. Pruning and cutting cause more problems than they fix. One thing we forget is that, in nature, plants manage to survive without our infinite wisdom and assistance. The fact is we’re really not that important! Much of the maintenance we do on plants is to please ourselves more than the plants. What I’m saying is that if you’re unsure of what to do, do nothing, for plants can take care of themselves. They might not be the epitome of tidiness, but they’ll survive. Following are some recommendations that fulfill the desire to tidy up and/or perhaps increase blooming, hopefully without affecting the plants in a negative way.

Some plants really need nothing done to them, winter or summer, or both. If you wish to tidy them up in the winter by removing any rogue branches; feel free to do so, but take heed that some spring bloomers hold their buds on the growth they make during the late summer and fall; if you cut that off, you may also remove potential flowers.