The best time to prune hebes is coming up – experts reveal how to get more blooms without damaging the plant

As slow-growing evergreen shrubs, hebes don't need lots of pruning. However, an annual tidy-up can extend their life and result in more abundant blooms. Pruning can also breathe new life into an old hebe; a useful tool in your gardening arsenal.

Pruning hebes is best done in late summer – in fact, it's one of the plants to prune in August. However, it is best to wait until the flowers have faded before taking your secateurs to your hebe.

'A light prune of the whole hebe in late summer will gently hold its shape together. Annual pruning is not essential as they are slow-growing plants and tend to maintain their dome-like appearance naturally, but this can vary depending on which hebe you are choosing to grow,' says Cal Stewart, head gardener for the National Trust's Gibside.

1. Deadhead throughout the flowering season

As flowering shrubs, hebes can flower from late spring to early autumn depending on the variety and climate. Deadheading spent flowers keeps the plant tidy and encourages more blooms, rather than the plant redirecting its energy into setting seed.

Deadheading differs from pruning and simply involves snipping off the dead flowerheads. A pair of garden snips like these Kent & Stowe Garden Life Snips from B&Q are perfect for the job.

Before you start deadheading your hebe – make sure you know these deadheading mistakes to avoid.

2. Prune hebes in late summer

As one of the best low-growing evergreen shrubs, your hebe doesn't need a rigorous prune every year; however, a light trim can help maintain a clean dome shape. The best month to prune varies from hebe to hebe, but pruning hebes is generally regarded as one of the jobs to do in the garden in August.

'Hebes are naturally nice and round, needing pruning rarely. However, if you think it needs a bit of a tidy, lightly prune the outside to reform its shape with shears,' says Paul Parker, managing director at J. Parkers.

Avoid hard pruning and cutting into old wood, as this is less likely to grow back. If you have fallen victim to this or want to add more hebes to your garden, then this hebes collection from Gardening Express offers a vibrant selection of plants to brighten your garden.

Secateurs are needed for this job – Wolf-Garten RR4000 Bypass Secateurs, available on Amazon, are rated among the best secateurs of 2026.

3. Prune hebes in spring

If you miss the opportunity to prune in late summer, then you can prune in spring instead. 'Pruning hebes in April will also help prevent overcrowding and allow good air circulation throughout the plant,' says Steve Swanborough, gardening expert at Henchman. 'Generally, we recommend removing about a third of old growth for best results.'

Even if you pruned your hebe in August, take a moment to remove any dead and damaged branches that did not survive the winter.

If pruning in spring, make sure the last frost has passed – this is one of the most common pruning mistakes. You should never prune a hebe in midwinter, as this will make the plant more vulnerable to a sharp frost – potentially killing the plant.

'Although general advice is not to hard prune hebes, if you are going to replace it anyway, it can be worth trying to see if it regrows. The best time to rejuvenate a hebe is in March, just before new buds begin to form,' adds an expert from Hayloft. 'Cut back to a node about 30cm above the soil.'