Japanese maples are stunning trees with vibrant foliage that are relatively easy to care for - but there's one essential winter task that promotes solid spring growth
Angela Patrone Senior Lifestyle Reporter and Ellen Jenne U35 Spare Time Writer
12:14, 15 Jan 2026
Japanese maples, while relatively easy to maintain, do require some upkeep to truly flourish. Gardeners recommend pruning these trees during this time of year to enhance their natural beauty and prepare them for summer and winter viewing, reports the Express.
Melissa Strauss, a gardening expert from Epic Gardening, has shared her advice on how to prune maple trees to give them a "more vigorous start in the spring". She also highlighted other plants that benefit from pruning at this time of year.
She advised: "Prune your Japanese maples in winter while they are dormant. These will bloom on new growth, and trimming them now helps them grow faster and get a more vigorous start in the spring."
Melissa noted that unless you're aiming for a specific shape, there's no need to prune in the first few years. For younger trees, a light trim can stimulate dormant buds, encouraging branching.
Start by removing all dead and damaged wood, then examine the interior. If you're cutting entire branches, make sure to cut parallel to the trunk, leaving the collar intact.
Water spouts and crossing branches should be removed to thin out the interior. However, never remove more than a quarter of the tree's total branches in one go.
Other plants to prune in winter
Panicle hydrangeas
When it comes to pruning hydrangeas, it's important to recognise that different varieties require different approaches. Oakleaf hydrangeas and bigleaf varieties should only be pruned immediately after flowering, as they develop buds on old wood and won't produce blooms if you remove the buds during winter.
Panicle hydrangeas, however, flower on new wood, meaning winter pruning "promotes vigorous growth and thus, increased flowering". When trimming your panicle hydrangea, remove any crossing branches to maintain an open interior and achieve an attractive overall shape.
Always cut just above an outward-facing bud to encourage a rounded appearance. Reduce these by approximately one-third to promote branching and maintain an appealing form.
Spiraea
Spiraeas are stunning flowering shrubs that benefit most from winter pruning whilst dormant. Melissa explained: "This will help to rejuvenate the plant and encourage bushier growth in the spring.
"These can tolerate hard pruning, and it will actually stimulate bushier, more floriferous growth."
For a lighter trim, simply remove any dead or damaged branches. Reduce the branches to your desired height, ensuring you cut just above a bud.
Avoid cutting your spiraea to the same height annually, as this will create congestion in that area and result in leggy growth. Cutting it back to the plant's base will revitalise a leggy specimen or one with an undesirable shape.
Crape myrtle
Winter is the optimal season to prune these plants, for reasons similar to other species. It "promotes healthy growth, branching, and thus, more flowering".
Shape your crape myrtle into an open vase or chalice form. The branches should elegantly grow upwards and curve outwards at the tops.
Remove any intersecting branches in the interior, and if you wish to enhance the bloom, you can gently tip the ends of the branches.