These 7 Plants Should Never Be Pruned In January

• 1. Forsythia
• 2. Lilacs
• 3. Rhododendron
• 4. Bigleaf Hydrangea
• 5. Lavender
• 6. Boxwood
• 7. Peaches
• Is January Pruning Ever Okay?
• Shop Winter Pruning Essentials

The only child of a horticulturist and an English teacher, Liz Baessler was destined to become a gardening editor. She has been with Gardening Know how since 2015, and a Senior Editor since 2020. She holds a BA in English from Brandeis University and an MA in English from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. After years of gardening in containers and community garden plots, she finally has a backyard of her own, which she is systematically filling with vegetables and flowers.

• Can a Bougainvillea Stay Outside in Winter?
• Is Winterizing Necessary?
• Bougainvillea Winter Care
• What to Do in Spring
• FAQ

Teo Spengler is a master gardener and a docent at the San Francisco Botanical Garden, where she hosts public tours. She has studied horticulture and written about nature, trees, plants, and gardening for more than two decades, following a career as an attorney and legal writer. Her extended family includes some 30 houseplants and hundreds of outdoor plants, including 250 trees, which are her main passion. Spengler currently splits her life between San Francisco and the French Basque Country, though she was raised in Alaska, giving her experience of gardening in a range of climates.