Avoid Pruning Daphne Shrubs In Summer - Here's Why

With their attractive fragrance and bright, beautiful flowers, daphne shrubs are a fantastic addition to any garden. Most varieties of daphnes are evergreen or semi-evergreen, providing your garden with color and life throughout the seasons. However, avoid the common pruning mistake of trimming them in the summer. These plants grow slowly, and their flowers bloom on old wood. This means that their flower buds for the next season will start to develop during the current season. Pruning them in the summer can impact how long they have to develop their buds and, in turn, affect the development of new flowers the following year. 

There is a wide variety of daphne shrubs out there, so there is no hard and fast rule when it comes to clipping them. However, most varieties need little to no pruning. They are typically small to medium-sized shrubs and fairly low maintenance. Any work you need to do should simply be to remove any dead flowers or damaged stems. 

Different varieties of daphne will bloom at different times, ranging from late winter to summer. Opt to do any pruning within 30 to 45 days after they have finished blooming. This will allow you to get rid of any flowers that have turned and prepare the plant for the next season. When trimming your daphne shrub, do so lightly to remove any diseased or damaged stems. You can shape your shrub as you are doing this, but always take it slowly, as overpruning a daphne shrub can lead to die-back. 

Most varieties of daphne, such as the blue daphne (Daphne genkwa), are highly toxic to humans. This means that, if you want to work on your daphne plant, it is essential to protect yourself. Contact with the sap of daphne bushes can cause irritation to the skin, so choose the best gardening gloves to wear when trimming or shaping it. While you are pruning your daphne shrub, look out for any signs of root rot, such as yellowing or darkening leaves, as they are susceptible to this disease.