You can prune summer blooms in the fall if you live in a warmer climate. Winter heathers are cut after they have bloomed, while summer blooms are being cut before they start to grow. If you live in the United States, you can use your ZIP code to estimate the last expected frost date in your area here: https://garden. org/apps/frost-dates/
Make sure your shears are sharp before you use them so you can make the cleanest cut.
Hedge shears can be purchased at garden and home care stores. For added grip, wear gardening gloves while you use the hedge shears.
You can also make a cleaning solution using 9 parts water and 1 part chlorine bleach. Soak the shears for 30 minutes before drying them off and using them. Heathers are resilient to most common plant diseases, but it’s still good practice to clean your gardening tools.
You don’t have to be precise with the angle you cut, as long as water is able to run off the end of the stem. Annual pruning will help prevent a bald spot from forming in the middle of your plant.
If your plant has a bald spot, new blooms will not form in that area. Replace the entire plant if you want it to bloom fully.
If you don’t want heather to intrude on other plants, you can cut into woody parts of the plant to prevent it from growing in that direction.
