Keep the shears handy in midsummer

Spring is not the only season for pruning. Many plants also benefit from pruning in summer.

Tomato vines are pruned when grown against a wooden stake. The technique is to prune out the suckers or side shoots to develop a single stem and tie it to the stake for support.

Tomatoes growing inside wire cages are another matter. Their suckers are allowed to flower and fruit, and there is no need for pruning. The less pruning you do to tomatoes, the more fruit they produce.

Chrysanthemums and asters stay dense and compact when pruned at least once in summer. If neglected, their flowering stems will grow too tall and flop over on the ground in fall. Summer pruning involves snipping the tip out of each stem one at a time or trimming the whole plant at once using hedge clippers.

Daffodil leaves may be cut off now that they are turning yellow and brown. Photosynthesis is coming to an end, and the food needed for next spring’s flowers is being stored in the bulb.

Peonies are deadheaded by pruning the tips off their stems. With bearded iris, you have to reach down toward the ground and prune out the entire flower stalk once it finishes flowering.

Other stalks to prune out of plants are found on yucca, red hot poker and snapdragon. The first two are hazardous enough to require safety glasses when you prune them.

Roses need to be deadheaded on and off through the summer. For hybrid tea roses, this means cutting back the flowering stem to a vigorous bud, which will generate further growth. For best results, cut just above a leaf composed of five leaflets instead of three.

Shrubbery is growing by leaps and bounds, thanks to the generous rainfall. Hedges growing out of control may be sheared with hedge clippers — manual, electric or gas-powered. Shearing is usually a monthly chore in summer.

Time is slipping away for pruning azaleas. Their pruning season is coming to an end soon, just as it is for camellia, pieris and rhododendron. Pruning them too late into the season will prevent flower buds from forming. Next spring’s floral display would suffer.

Hollies will respond better to summer pruning better than English boxwoods. Pruning later than July 1 often causes the boxwoods to sprout new growth only to have it killed by winter’s cold.

Fruit trees pruned earlier this year could need more pruning. Crowded interiors are improved by thinning. Trees growing too tall to prune, spray and harvest fruit will need some topping. Other things to prune are sprouts coming from the fruit tree’s lower trunk and base.

Low hanging branches on shade trees may need removal, if they interfere with lawn mowing. Young oaks and maples can be limbed up as they grow taller, to eliminate all lower branches. This provides plenty of clearance for pedestrians, cars and mowers.

Weeping cherries are ruined by sprouts coming from below the point of grafting. These rootstock sprouts grow straight up and will quickly dominate the tree. Pruning them as soon as you see them is essential.

Sprouts coming up at the base of crape myrtle trees require constant pruning in summer. Your tree will look more like a bush if you do not do any pruning.