When Is the Best Time to Cut Back a Boxwood Hedge in Georgia?

Ideal Time

• With a natural height and spread of up to 20 feet, boxwood hedges need periodic pruning to control their size. However, pruning often removes a large portion of foliage, leaving the shrub with exposed stems. The best time to cut back boxwoods in Georgia is in the late winter. As days are growing longer and warmer, boxwoods are reaching their spring growth period. Pruned limbs and foliage grow back to create a neat shrub for both formal and informal gardens. They maintain their pruned shape well, but with dense leaves covering the exterior stems for maximum photosynthesis. Moist, well-drained soil coupled with a full sunlight location helps your boxwood thrive after pruning.

Avoid Hot Weather

• You can lightly prune your boxwood in late fall, winter and spring because Georgia's climate is relatively mild during those seasons. However, avoid any extensive pruning between August and October. These months tend to be the warmest across the state and boxwoods quickly sunscald, or scorch, under the intense sunlight. Without dense foliage protecting the inner stems and limbs, boxwoods decline in the summer with heavy pruning. Their shallow root system cannot supply the moisture and nutrients needed to withstand both hot weather and foliage development after a summer pruning.

Proper Pruning

• Cut back boxwoods with several light pruning sessions throughout the years. Maintaining a slightly informal and open shrub shape allows air to circulate between the stems and limbs to reduce disease and pest problems. A shrub with a large base and narrow top allows sunlight to permeate all the foliage for optimal growth and health. Avoid constant shearing that creates a wall out of the shrub and reduced foliage. Boxwoods need ample leaves across all their stems to grow normally. If you must cut your boxwood low, such as 12 inches tall, perform this pruning just before spring growth. Diseased or damaged stems can slowly recover over the warmer months before cool weather returns.

Damaged Limbs

• Diseased or damaged shrub limbs must be pruned as soon as possible. Open wounds from disease or breakage on a boxwood invite pathogens and pests to populate the area. Although it may not be the right time of year for pruning, such as early winter or late summer, allowing damaged limbs to remain on the plant may cause significant dieback for the remaining branches and foliage. Although recovery is slow, your boxwood has a better chance at long-term health with damaged limbs and stems removed.