What to Prune Now
This is a great time of the year to prune non-blooming evergreens, or evergreens with insignificant blooms, such as boxwood, holly and pittosporum.
Flowering shrubs and trees that bloom after Memorial Day can also be pruned now. This includes butterfly bush, crepe myrtles, camellias (after they finish blooming), roses and summer-blooming spirea.
Evergreen ferns such as autumn, holly and tassle ferns benefit from a late-winter haircut every other year (can be cut to ground). Liriope, ornamental grasses and cast-iron plant can also be cut back now.
February is a good time to shape, limb-up and thin-out deciduous trees and shrubs, removing suckers, damaged or crossing branches and thick growth that reduces air and light circulation.
