Your March Pruning Guide
Some plants and trees need a seasonal pruning. That essential “trim” or haircut as we like to call it, encourages new growth and more flowers for the coming season. It’s the perfect opportunity to remove any dead, diseased, or crossing stems, while also ensuring a nice shape per your liking. As the last frost of the season comes to an end, March is the perfect time to focus on deciduous grasses and woody perennials before they grow vigorously during the warm season and need to be cut back to keep from getting rangy and woody. It’s also the right time to prune fruit trees to promote growth and fruit production. Pruning once or twice a year with your trusty shears will keep these plants in your yards looking beautiful.
Scroll down for pruning details to the plants and trees you have in your garden to set you up for success!
Note: If you ask your maintenance gardener to prune your perennials, most will use a hedge trimmer and shape it into a ball. This look works for some garden styles but for a natural look, we recommend pruning perennials by hand yourselves unless you have a gardener who uses hand pruners.
DECIDUOUS GRASSES
When looking dry and rangy, deadhead by pulling the grass together like a ponytail (use a rope to tie it up) and cut back to 3-6" above ground in late winter, this will control the size and encourage new, green growth. It will rapidly grow back appx 1' per month. Check out the three pro
Grasses you may have in your yard that will need this type of pruning:
While Bee Blossom (Gaura) is a perennial and isn’t a grass per se, pruning it is almost the same: pull together like a pony tail but leave about 1’ of the plant (cut back to ⅓) in February/March to prune, tidy up, or prevent it from crowding out nearby perennials. This will encourage more flowering through summer.
PERENNIALS
Prune off old woody growth, otherwise the plant will keep getting bigger and bigger with a dry woody interior. It’s important to prune now (in winter) before the plants start producing new growth, because we don’t want to prune off its fresh new growth. To shape, prune above a branch that is going in the direction you want it to.
Lantana: Prune lantana in March every year. When young, cut back to 1' above the ground to prevent it from getting woody. Overgrown plants can be pruned back to about a third of their height and spread if necessary. What if it’s still blooming, you may ask. Prune it anyway. You won’t regret it once it grows in beautifully in spring
Lavender: Spring is the time for a strong pruning of your lavender to minimize the development of woody stems and encourage fresh new growth. You should do this early in the season, to give the plant plenty of time to reestablish itself. See this detailed guide and video. Other plants that need similar pruning are rosemary and rockrose (Cistus).
Pro Tip:
The best time to prune CA native perennials is in the fall before the rainy season. Plants that should have been cut back in the fall and you can give them a trim now if they haven’t put on new growth yet.
Sage (Salvia Clevelandii ‘Winifred Gilman’) Cut back in the late fall to early winter by about 1/3 or more when young to create a dense and more attractive plant. Once it matures with woody stems, only tip prune (this is why pruning when it’s young is important)
Fuchsia (Epilobium canum): Once established through one or two summers, cut back hard every winter after the plants have finished flowering and before new growth appears. At this time, plants should be cut to the ground, leaving stubs about 2” inch long. When pruning, take care to avoid breaking off the tender young shoots and buds that may already be sprouting from the base of each plant.
TREES
Before we get to March pruning for trees, let’s talk about fertilization. Many people don’t realize that trees, both young and old, need to be fertilized at specific times during the year and stages of growth. They need specific nutrients that may not be found in your native soil or has been depleted. Not sure exactly what fertilizer to use and when for your specific tree? Check in with your local nursery or check out “how to” videos for more information.
Now, back to pruning! For younger trees that need help stimulating growth and effective shaping, winter pruning is a great time for pruning since the tree is dormant. With no leaves, flowers, or fruit on the limbs, it is easier to see your tree's structure and to decide what to prune. However, for your more established trees, spring or summer may be ideal since the tree will show you which limbs are not producing any leaves or fruit and taking unnecessary energy from the tree’s production and growth. This is important as you’ll want your tree to no have to give up it’s precious energy and nutrients to a limb that isn’t working. Check out some pruning tips per specific fruit trees:
Dwarf Bearss Seedless Lime and Owari Satsuma Mandarin Orange - Prune in the winter and feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring to promote fruit production and strengthen limbs.
Meyer and Eureka Lemon Trees - Prune in the spring, between February and April. Make pruning cuts approximately 1/4 inch above a healthy bud. Choose buds facing up and toward the outside of the tree. Make each cut on a slant parallel to the growth of the bud. Prune any dead, damaged, or diseased branches and clean shears with alcohol after each cut.
Fuyu Persimmon - Prune out upward-growing or damaged branches during the dormant season. Fertilizer is required only when growth is less than 1 foot per year or leaves lose their deep green color. When the need for fertilizer is indicated, use a balanced fertilizer – such as 10-10-10 or 10-20-20. Spread 1 pound of the fertilizer for each inch of trunk diameter under the tree canopy in late winter or early spring when new shoots emerge.
With a freshly installed landscape, or if you’ve recently moved to a new home, it may be overwhelming to know what to do for each plant or tree. However, your time invested in pruning your yard is going to be worth your while. Learning each plant, shrub and tree’s personalities will ensure longevity for displaying their inner beauty for years to come. In just a few months, you’ll see that inner beauty shine through with happy plants and trees. When working with Genesis Landscapes, we set you up for success by crafting you a seasonal maintenance and irrigation guide with all of our designs — taking out the guesswork and making it easier to care for your yard. Happy gardening!
Photo Credit: Devil Mountain Nursery and Green Acres Nursery & Supply
