Summer-flowering plants generally are pruned during the dormant winter season. If plants are not grown for their flowers, pruning is best done during the dormant winter season before new growth begins in the spring. Avoid heavy pruning during the late summer and fall because regrowth may occur and make the plants more susceptible to cold injury. Peach trees, for example, should not be pruned from October through January. Time of pruning based on time of flowering.
Some plants bleed heavily after pruning.
Bleeding is unsightly but usually is not harmful. Trees subject to bleeding should be pruned in the late spring or early summer when leaves are on the tree. Actively growing leaves tend to reduce the amount of bleeding from pruning cuts and allow the cuts to heal more quickly. Plants that bleed readily include willows, birches, maples, beeches and dogwoods. Azaleas losing leaves We've gotten in several samples this fall and winter where clients have complained of the lower leaves on their azaleas turning yellow and dropping.