December is a quiet time in the garden, a month many associate with putting tools away, not taking them out. Yet, for certain plants, this dormant period offers a perfect window for a haircut.
Pruning now, when growth has paused, directs the plant’s energy toward a strong start in the spring. It helps improve structure, boosts future fruit and flower production, and removes any weak or damaged branches before heavy winter weather arrives.
Here are 12 plants you may need to trim as soon as possible.
1. Wisteria
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This famously vigorous vine can quickly get out of hand, growing into a tangled mass that produces more leaves than flowers. A proper December prune is your weapon for taming the beast and encouraging a spectacular spring bloom. Trimming during dormancy makes it much easier to see the plant’s framework without all the foliage in the way.
Shorten the long, whippy growths produced over the summer, cutting them back to just two or three buds from the main woody framework. This process stimulates the plant to form flower buds instead of more leafy growth. It also improves air circulation, which helps prevent fungal diseases. You can also take this opportunity to remove any dead, damaged, or crossing branches to create a clean, strong structure.
2. Apple Trees
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Pruning apple trees in December is a classic horticultural task for good reason. When the tree is dormant and leafless, its entire structure is visible, allowing you to make precise, strategic cuts. This winter trim shapes the tree, promotes healthy growth, and is directly linked to the quality and quantity of fruit you will harvest next year.
Focus on creating an open, goblet-like shape that allows sunlight and air to reach all parts of the tree. Start by removing any dead, diseased, or broken branches. Next, look for branches that are crossing or rubbing against each other, as this can create wounds that invite disease. Finally, thin out some of the newer growth to prevent the canopy from becoming too dense.
3. Pear Trees
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Much like their apple tree cousins, pear trees benefit greatly from a winter prune during their dormant state. The principles are very similar: you are aiming to establish a strong framework and encourage the tree to put its energy into producing delicious fruit rather than excessive woody growth. Pear trees can be particularly prone to upward growth, so pruning helps maintain a manageable size and shape.
Your primary targets are dead or damaged limbs, as well as any branches that grow inward toward the center of the tree or cross over others. Thinning the canopy helps prevent diseases like fire blight by improving air movement. By trimming back some of the vigorous shoots from last season, you encourage the development of fruit-bearing spurs.
4. Hydrangeas
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The subject of when to prune hydrangeas can be confusing, but for certain types, December is ideal. Specifically, panicle hydrangeas (like ‘Limelight’) and smooth hydrangeas (like ‘Annabelle’) are perfect candidates for a winter trim. These varieties bloom on “new wood,” meaning the flower buds form on the growth that will emerge in the spring.
Pruning these types now will not sacrifice any of next year’s flowers. You can cut the stems back by about one-third to one-half of their height. This encourages the plant to produce strong, sturdy new stems capable of holding up those big, beautiful flower heads without flopping over. It also helps maintain a tidy shape. Be careful not to prune bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla), which bloom on old wood.
5. Willow Trees
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Willows are known for their incredibly fast growth, which is lovely but can also lead to weak, brittle branches that are susceptible to breaking in winter storms. A December pruning session helps to manage their size, improve their structural integrity, and keep them looking their best. This is particularly true for ornamental willows grown for their colorful winter stems, like certain varieties of Salix.
For larger willow trees, focus on removing any dead, damaged, or weakly attached branches. You can also thin the canopy to reduce its weight and allow wind to pass through more easily. For smaller, shrub-like willows grown for stem color, you can perform a harder prune, a technique known as coppicing. This involves cutting all stems down to just above the ground to encourage a flush of vibrant new growth.
6. Grapevines
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Pruning grapevines is absolutely essential for a good harvest. Left to their own devices, vines will produce a huge amount of foliage and very few grapes. A hard prune in December, when the vine is fully dormant, is the key to concentrating its energy into fruit production for the following year.
The goal is to remove up to 90 percent of the growth from the previous season. This sounds extreme, but it is standard practice. Identify the main trunk and a few strong, permanent arms (cordons). From there, you will select a few healthy, year-old canes to keep for fruiting and cut back the rest. This severe haircut ensures that the vine’s resources go directly into producing large, high-quality grape clusters.
7. Roses
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December is a great time to give many types of roses a winter prune, especially in milder climates. For hybrid teas, floribundas, and grandifloras, a winter trim helps remove weak growth and shapes the plant for a burst of healthy new canes in the spring. This prune sets the foundation for the entire growing season.
The process involves removing all remaining leaves to prevent diseases from overwintering. Then, cut out any dead, spindly, or crossing canes. Shorten the remaining healthy, strong canes by about one-third to one-half, making your cuts just above an outward-facing bud. This directs new growth away from the center of the plant, promoting good air circulation.
8. Oak Trees
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Pruning large, mature trees like oaks is often best left to professionals, but light trimming in December can be beneficial. The primary reason to prune oaks during deep dormancy is to reduce the risk of oak wilt, a serious fungal disease spread by beetles that are attracted to fresh tree wounds. These beetles are not active in the cold of winter.
If you need to remove a few smaller, lower branches or any dead or broken limbs, December is one of the safest times to do it. The tree’s inactivity means the cuts will not stress the tree, and the risk of disease transmission is at its lowest point in the year. Avoid heavy pruning, which can compromise the tree’s structure.
9. Crape Myrtle
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Crape myrtles bloom on new wood, making them excellent candidates for a winter prune. While these plants are often subjected to an aggressive and unnecessary topping known as “crape murder,” a more thoughtful trim in December can improve their shape and blooming potential.
The correct approach is to thin the plant, not chop it. Look for any branches that are crossing or rubbing, and remove one of them. You can also remove any suckers growing from the base of the plant and any weak, twiggy growth from the main trunks. If you need to reduce the height, only trim branches back to a side branch or to the main trunk. This preserves the plant’s attractive natural form.
10. Purple Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea)
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While many gardeners leave coneflower seed heads for winter interest and to feed birds, there are good reasons to cut them back in December. If your plants struggled with any fungal issues like powdery mildew during the growing season, removing the old stems and foliage can help reduce the amount of disease spores that overwinter in your garden.
Cutting the stems back to the basal foliage, the small clump of leaves at the base of the plant, creates a tidier look through the winter months. This can also prevent the plant from self-seeding too enthusiastically throughout the garden bed if that is a concern for you.
11. American Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)
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American elderberry is a fast-growing shrub that produces fruit on both new and old wood, but it is most productive on two-year-old canes. A regular pruning routine in winter keeps the plant vigorous, productive, and at a manageable size.
The best method is to remove any canes that are more than three years old, as their productivity will have declined. You can identify them as the thickest, woodiest stems, often with shaggier bark. Cut these old canes right down to the ground. Also, remove any dead, broken, or weak-looking new shoots. This renewal pruning encourages the plant to send up strong new canes that will become the heavy fruit-bearers in future years.
12. Autumn-Fruiting Raspberries
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Unlike their summer-fruiting relatives, autumn-fruiting raspberries (also called everbearing) produce fruit on canes that grew in the current season (primocanes). This makes pruning them incredibly straightforward. Once they have finished fruiting and dropped their leaves, the job is simple.
Take your pruners or shears and cut every single cane right down to the ground. That’s it. All of the canes that grew and produced fruit this year can be completely removed. Next spring, a fresh batch of new canes will grow from the roots, and these will be the ones that give you a delicious raspberry crop late next summer and into the fall.
After the Cut
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Once your pruning work is done, the job is not quite over. The final step is a thorough cleanup. Rake up all the trimmed branches, stems, and leaves from around your plants. This is not just for looks; it is a critical step in garden hygiene. Diseased material and pest eggs can easily overwinter in fallen debris, creating problems for you next season.
Dispose of any obviously diseased wood by burning it (where permitted) or putting it in the trash, not your compost pile. Healthy wood can be shredded for mulch or added to the compost. After cleaning up, you can rest easy knowing you have given your plants a fantastic head start for the year to come.