Pruning Tips for Fall
November Gardening Tips
Sabine Parish Master Gardeners
6/20/20261 min read
At the end of the growing season, November is an ideal time to prune many plants that grow well in our region. Pruning can help many plants overwinter, reduce disease risks, and boost productivity the following spring. Be cautious, however, about pruning flowering shrubs. Pruning plants that set their buds in “old wood” from the prior year’s growth can eliminate spring flowering.
Here are a few November pruning tips from our local gardeners and the LSU AgCenter:
Perennials
Hostas - cut back to ground level after leaves turn yellow or mushy, keep the base clean and clear of decaying leaves, divide crowded clumps by lifting the root ball and cut or pull the clump into smaller ones, replant at same depth
Daylilies - prune to about 4 inches after first frost, divide and transplant oversized clumps
Ginger - cut back and remove foliage after it turns brown
Frost sensitive ferns (like asparagus fern) - cut back after first hard freeze
Hardy hibiscus - cut canes to ground level
Lantana, hardy varieties - after first hard freeze, cut to near ground level
Purple coneflower - cut back to base of flower stems.
Elephant ears - cut back to ground level after killing frost just for tidiness, it is not usually necessary in our area to leave damaged leaves on plant to insulate roots during winter
Banana - prune dead leaves after killing frost, only remove dead tissue and try not to damage the living trunk, from which new growth will emerge in spring
Canna - cut back dead foliage and spent flower stems
LSU AgCenter experts suggest waiting at least a week or more after a freeze to begin pruning herbaceous or non-woody tropical, such as cannas, elephant ears, birds-of-paradise, begonias, gingers and philodendrons.
Tree and Shrubs
Non-flowering evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs can be pruned from fall to early spring. These include many of Sabine’s common landscaping varieties such as boxwoods, wax myrtle, junipers, and hollies.
Figs can be pruned once they turn dormant in the fall, but pruning should not be done after February. Moderate pruning can help maintain tree vigor and shape; heavy pruning may reduce fruit production the following summer.