October brings crisp air and golden leaves to Missouri gardens, signaling the perfect time to get your pruning shears ready. As our state transitions from summer’s heat to winter’s chill, strategic pruning helps plants survive harsh Missouri winters while setting them up for spectacular spring growth.
Taking time now for these eleven plants will reward you with healthier gardens and less work when warmer days return.
1. Butterfly Bush Gone Wild
After summer’s flurry of butterfly activity, these bushes need a good trim back. Standing in my Jefferson City garden last fall, I noticed how quickly they recover from an October haircut.
Cut stems back by one-third their height to prevent winter damage from heavy snow. The plant responds better to pruning now than in spring when new growth has already begun.
Missouri winters can be unpredictable, and this pruning helps direct energy to the roots rather than supporting lanky branches that might break under ice weight.
2. Roses That Need Rest
Many gardeners make the mistake of heavy rose pruning in autumn, but a light trim is just right for Missouri’s climate. Remove only dead or diseased canes, leaving major cutting for spring.
My neighbors in Springfield always remind me that our roses face temperature swings unique to the Midwest. Too much pruning exposes tender stems to potential freeze damage.
Clear away fallen leaves around the base to prevent disease, and mound soil or mulch around the crown for winter protection after your light pruning session.
3. Clematis: The Climbing Confusion
Knowing when to prune clematis confuses even experienced Missouri gardeners. For Group 3 varieties that flower on new wood, October is ideal timing.
Cut these late-flowering types back to about 12 inches from ground level. Years ago, I lost a beautiful clematis in my St. Louis garden by pruning the wrong type at the wrong time.
Group 1 and 2 clematis should only have dead or tangled growth removed now. The plant’s flowering behavior determines pruning timing—a lesson I learned through trial and error in our temperamental climate.
4. Summer-Flowering Spireas Need Attention
Walking through my garden near Branson last October, I realized how scraggly summer-flowering spireas look by fall. A good trim now prevents that messy appearance while encouraging bushier growth next season.
Cut back these woody shrubs by about one-third their height. Unlike spring-flowering varieties, summer bloomers produce flowers on new growth, making autumn pruning beneficial.
Missouri’s summer humidity often leads to dense growth patterns in these plants. Opening up the center with strategic cuts improves air circulation and reduces fungal problems next year.
5. Blackberries After Harvest
Those thorny canes that produced summer berries won’t fruit again, making October the perfect time to remove them. Last year in my Ozark garden, clearing old canes prevented disease spread and opened growing space.
Identify brownish canes that fruited this year and cut them at ground level. The green first-year canes should remain untouched as they’ll bear next summer’s berries.
Missouri’s clay soils tend to hold moisture, which can lead to root rot if old canes aren’t removed to improve air circulation around the base of blackberry plants.
6. Hydrangeas: Handle With Care
Missouri gardeners often ask me about hydrangea pruning. Only certain types should be pruned in fall—specifically smooth hydrangeas like ‘Annabelle’ that bloom on new wood.
For these varieties, cut stems back to about 1-2 feet above ground. I’ve found this approach works well in my Kansas City garden, where winter temperatures fluctuate dramatically.
Leave bigleaf and oakleaf hydrangeas alone in October, as they form next year’s flower buds now. Mistaken pruning explains why so many Missouri gardeners complain about hydrangeas that never bloom.
7. Perennial Herbs Gone Woody
Woody herbs like lavender and sage benefit from October pruning in our Missouri climate. Trimming prevents the legginess that leads to splitting during winter snow loads.
Cut back by about one-third, but never into old wood where no leaves grow. When I moved to Columbia, my established herb garden taught me that Missouri’s humid summers cause faster woodiness than in drier regions.
Avoid severe pruning this late in the season. The goal is to shape and contain, not stimulate tender new growth that would be vulnerable to our unpredictable first frosts.
8. Fruit Trees: The Winter Prep Cut
Missouri orchards benefit from light structural pruning in October before trees enter dormancy. Remove water sprouts, crossing branches, and diseased limbs now while issues are easy to spot.
Save heavy pruning for late winter. My apple trees in the Missouri Bootheel respond well to this two-stage approach, with October cuts focusing on problem areas rather than major reshaping.
Clear away fallen fruit and leaves after pruning to reduce disease pressure. Our state’s humid climate creates perfect conditions for fungal problems to overwinter in orchard debris.
9. Raspberry Canes Ready for Reset
Summer-bearing raspberries need your attention now. The canes that produced this year’s berries should be cut completely to the ground, leaving only this season’s new growth.
Working in my Kirksville garden last October, I found color-coding helps—brown canes go, green canes stay. The new canes will bear next summer’s crop in our Missouri growing season.
Ever-bearing varieties require different treatment—either remove only the top portions that fruited this fall, or consider the alternative approach of cutting everything to ground level for a single larger fall crop next year.
10. Evergreen Foundations Need Shaping
October offers the perfect window to shape foundation evergreens before winter. Missouri’s frequent ice storms can damage splayed branches, making preventive pruning valuable.
Light shaping cuts help maintain proper form without stimulating vulnerable new growth. I’ve learned from maintaining yews around my Cape Girardeau home that our climate demands different timing than gardening books often suggest.
Focus on removing wayward branches that could collect snow weight. Avoid cutting into bare woody areas with no needles or leaves, as these sections won’t regenerate in many evergreen varieties common to Missouri landscapes.
11. Wisteria’s Wild Ways
Wisteria vines require twice-yearly pruning to keep their rampant growth in check, with October being crucial for Missouri gardens. Cut back long, whippy stems to just a few buds from their base.
Since moving to Hannibal, I’ve battled with a century-old wisteria that would swallow my porch without October intervention. This pruning helps control size while encouraging more flower buds for spring.
Our Missouri growing season gives wisteria plenty of energy to spread aggressively. Removing seed pods now also prevents unwanted seedlings that could escape into natural areas where they become invasive.