Can we talk about the war between people who prune in fall versus spring?

I was at the community garden in Oakwood last October helping clean up beds. One of the older guys there started cutting back his rose bushes and this younger woman nearly lost it. She said fall pruning opens them up to frost damage and she only prunes in early spring. He said he's been doing it for 30 years and never had a problem. They went back and forth for like 10 minutes while I just stood there holding loppers. I usually just cut stuff whenever it looks messy. Am I doing it wrong? Which side actually has the science behind it?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jamie1mo ago

Gotta disagree a bit here... I've been in the garden game for about 15 years and fall pruning has always worked fine for me on most stuff. The young woman has a point about roses though, frost can get into fresh cuts on some varieties if you live in a colder zone. I usually deadhead in fall and save the heavy cuts for late winter right before things wake up.

elizabethn561mo ago

I actually read something in a gardening magazine once that said the real issue isn't spring vs fall, it's more about what you're pruning and your climate zone. Like for fruit trees, fall pruning can stimulate new growth that won't harden off before winter hits, which is bad. But for most perennials, cutting back in fall helps prevent disease because old plant matter doesn't sit there rotting all winter. My neighbor swears by fall pruning for her hydrangeas because she says it gives them a head start in spring. I just stick to cleaning up dead stuff whenever I see it and leave the heavy cutting for late winter.