Feb 9th, too soon to start cleaning/shaping evergreens?

[ForThemWhatCare]

So I'm itching to use some of my free time to start looking at and cleaning/shaping my end of last season cheap nursery stock in order to practice the craft (still a novice).

When is the earliest I can begin working with junipers, pines, cypress, boxwoods?

 

[bwaynef]

Junipers & Pines are pruned and thinned (somewhat) in fall through late winter. Any bends need to be protected. I pruned my boxwood about the same time, but I'm not positive that was ideal.

 

[PA_Penjing]

You can work most conifers whenever. But you need to protect them from hard freezes afterward (some say at or below freezing). At the nursery we tend to style pines/spruce/juniper in the fall through winter. Never asked why, probably because there's less to do.

 

[River's Edge]

So I'm itching to use some of my free time to start looking at and cleaning/shaping my end of last season cheap nursery stock in order to practice the craft (still a novice).

When is the earliest I can begin working with junipers, pines, cypress, boxwoods?

The best guidelines will come from experienced people in your local area. Couple that information with your own level of experience , training and resources. Add in the aftercare available for protection if needed. In short what someone else does is not always connected to what you should do.
Other factors include the amount of work to be done and the skill with which you are able to perform the tasks. Simple cleaning and light pruning for shape in most cases can be done when you have the time to do it! As the amount of work increases the timing becomes more important.