When is the best month to prune gardenias? When is the latest time to prune?

Gardenia pruning time

Gardenia can be pruned twice a year, the first time is from May to July, and the second time is around December. Each time you pruned, you should cut off the last few pairs of leaves on each branch and remove the fallen flowers and pedicels. You can trim the overgrown branches from May to July, and it will enter a dormant period in December.

How to prune gardenia

When pruning gardenias, you need to cut off the useless parts, such as thinner branches, branches with messy directions, branches that are not very ornamental, or branches that are already injured.

In order to make the flowers of gardenia more beautiful, the excess flower buds should be cut off, leaving two or three on each branch. Two or three stronger branches can be left so that nutrients can be concentrated.

Tips for pruning gardenias

If you plan to advance the flowering period of gardenia, you can prune it during the dormant period, mainly to prune away dead branches with diseases and insects, as well as overlapping branches that grow in an staggered manner, to maintain even growth of the main branches.

After the dormant period is over, especially when the flowers have just sprouted, be sure to cut off the excess branches in time to prevent insufficient nutrients, insufficient flowering, insufficiently bright colors, and ultimately unsightly appearance.