By Gerry McCabe

I do not know what happens to gardeners when these first mild days of spring enfold. A comatose state falls over us as we are drawn to the garage by some alien, magnetic force and we head straight for the innocuous hedge loppers.

In our mesmerized quest to “clean up the yard” we clip, we chop, we virtually hack it all down and tow it away then sit back and admire our daylong achievement. Funny, isn’t this soul the same person who repeatedly states “I’ve had this lilac for years and I never get a flower” or “ I’m just going to dig out this hydrangea, it never blooms”?

Beware of the Spring Severing Syndrome. Research before you trim. You may be chopping off the pretty little heads of developing flowers in your race to tidy up.

Pruning is basically a good cultural practice done for three primary reasons: to remove dead, dying or diseased tissue; to promote the health and aesthetic beauty to a tree or shrub; and to amplify flowering and fruiting. If you do it wrong in the spring, you and the tree will droop all summer.

In the spring, spring flowering shrubs should just be left alone. These plants flower on last summer’s growth and have their florescence tightly buried inside the swelling buds. Lilacs (Syriga sp.), Rhododendrons (Azaleas), Vernal Witch Hazels  (those that bloom in early spring such as Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Arnold’s Promise’), Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles speciosa), Mock orange (Philadelphus sp.), Forsythia, Pteris, Scotch Broom (Cytisus sp), Mountain Laurel (Kalmia spp) and other spring bloomers should be pruned directly after their flowers fade, either in late spring or early summer. This will spruce up the view and give the shrub ample time to rejuvenate and to develop next year’s display.

Tea roses are still dormant and are probably showing some black winter dieback on their canes. For years I would only prune down to the first “outward facing” node, thinking that would promote taller bushes. Much to my dismay all that resulted was multiple weak stems with small sagging rose buds.

Hybrid teas should be cut back to 12 inches from the ground, regardless of winterkill, so hold back the tears and lop off those canes. The roots will then throw out their virility to these parent stems and produce a progeny of which to be proud.

With shrub and climbing roses you need to be less militant and more selective. These roses blossom on last year’s growth. A good shaping of dead and weak canes and removal of growth older than three years is all that needs to be done in spring. Most of these roses will have a weaker second bloom in mid summer so a good shaping can be done immediately after the spring flush.

Certain shrubs such as Butterfly Bush (Buddlea davidii), Lavender (Lavendula sp.), Russian Sage (Pervoskia augustifolia) and Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) should be pruned unrelentingly to within six to 12 inches of the ground depending on the size of the shrub. (Higher for taller and lower for shorter). This “hair cut” fuels the fire and within weeks new growth will start to emerge from the remaining branches and by summer… a bounty.

As for the glorious white snowballs of summer — the hydrangea — a few words of caution: Know the name of your plant. The confusion around the hydrangea is that some bloom on last season’s growth and some bloom on this season’s growth. Oak leaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) and the ever popular blue (H. macrophylla’Nikko Blue”) and lacecap hydrangeas and should not be pruned in spring (except for dead wood), and winter protection is essential. Annabelle (H.aborescens) and PeeGee (H. paniculata, the one you find in cemeteries), blossom on the current season’s growth and can be cut back severely in spring. In fact, they love it. Your flowers will be larger, too.

So take it easy out there this spring. Go slow. Be aware of what you are cutting up. With proper care and observance, your efforts will be rewarded this summer.

(When she isn’t tending to her garden at home, Gerry McCabe spends some of her time continuing her gardening education at Naugatuck Valley College in Waterbury. Gerry can be reached at TNGCATS@aol.com.)