The dead of winter is a great time for pruning.

RedneckContributor - January 14, 2023

There is so much to do on a homestead, even in the winter when nothing is growing.  Lately I’ve been cleaning up the garden, getting rid of all the dead plants.  That material all goes in the compost pile.  I’ve also been pounding in a dozen 8 foot T-posts, to hold my 6 foot trellis netting for a new location of pole beans.

For many plants, the best time to prune is in the winter when they are dormant.  I finished cutting back most of my roses and now I am working on my muscadine grapes.  They get real leggy because each shoot can put out a stem that can be 10 feet long… or longer.  They bear fruit on new growth, so it is extremely important to cut them way back each winter.  When done with the muscadines, I have around 150 fruit trees to prune next.