Patience is a Virtue: Why You Shouldn't Rush to Prune Your Spring Garden
As the snow melts away and the sun starts to warm the earth, many gardeners are itching to get outside and start pruning and tidying up their gardens for spring. However, it's important to remember that rushing into this task could inadvertently harm some of the most important inhabitants of your garden - the overwintering bugs.
Here's why you shouldn't be too eager to prune your spring garden:
Beneficial insects need time to emerge: Many insects, including bees, ladybugs, and lacewings, overwinter in your garden in various stages of development. Pruning your garden too early can disturb these insects before they can emerge and continue their life cycle.
Pruning can disturb hibernating insects: Insects like butterflies and moths often overwinter in your garden's leaf litter or branches. Pruning too early can disturb their hibernation and cause them to die prematurely.
Overwintering insects help control pests: Many overwintering insects are beneficial predators that feed on pest insects during the growing season. By pruning too early, you could be inadvertently removing these valuable allies in your fight against garden pests.
Pruning too early can damage plants: Some plants, like lilacs and forsythia, bloom on old wood. Pruning these plants too early can remove the flower buds and reduce or eliminate their blooming for the year.
So, what should you do instead? Wait until the temperatures have warmed up (typically, we wait until we’re in the 50’s) and the overwintering insects have had a chance to emerge before pruning. You can also take steps to provide habitat for these beneficial insects, such as leaving leaf litter or installing insect hotels in your garden. Being patient and allowing your garden to emerge from winter at its own pace will help support your yard's healthy and thriving ecosystem.
