When shrubs are broken by vandalism or ice, the degree of the damage isn’t immediately visible. It is ideal to wait until spring to deal with the shrubs that are affected. Attempting to prune right after the ice or ice leaves shrubs accessible to additional damage if another freeze occurs. You may also be removing live tissue that can still recover, or giving yourself extra work with to prune twice when the tree proceeds to die back after pruning.
Wait until spring to prune shrubs that caused ice damage. For spring-flowering shrubs, wait until after the flowers have completed.
Locate the damaged limbs and stick to the limb back until the harm is no longer visible. Cut a sliver of bark from the limb using a knife to find healthy tissue. Once you hit green tissue under the bark, you also have a pruning point. If the entire shrub is damaged, choose a few limbs and cut the entire tree straight back to a similar length as opposed to checking each individual branch or cane.
Make cuts with pruning shears only outside a grass or lateral branch inside the healthy tissue station. If the limb is larger than 3/4-inch in diameter, then us a pruning saw. If you’re cutting back the entire tree, hedge clippers may be used.
Water the pruned shrubs at least 1 inch each week during the summer months, even when you didn’t normally water them. If the soil dries out quickly, water more frequently. If the dirt is still soggy after a week, you may use less water.
Don’t include extra fertilizer. Wait until the fall to fertilize the shrubs, following their routine fertilization rates and schedule.