How far back can I cut a Carissa Holly?

11 years ago

I have a low hedge in front of my porch of these and would like to reestablish them as a smaller shrub/hedge. Could I cut these back to bare stumps and have them re-sprout? Or would it kill them?

Someday I will remove them but that's a long way out.

How long will it take for them to resprout? 3 months?

I know they will look ugly for a long time. That's ok.

Thanks so much.

Featured Answer

brandon7 TN_zone7

11 years ago

The answer to your question is yes, they can be pruned back to a stump and should be just fine. If they are healthy to start with, they will regrow quickly (it's likely you'd be pruning again within a few months). It's also not too late to prune them back now, if you want to. The only time I would try to avoid would be late-summer/early-fall.

Ken, maybe everyone is like me and working from sun up until sun down. I haven't been responding to many posts lately because I barely have time to sleep any more.

Comments (7)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
apparently no one knows

this post has been sitting here w/o response for over a week..

you watch.. now there will be some... whats that all about

ken
Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
Original Author
11 years ago
Hehe, well, I certainly don't know! It's too late in the season now to really do that as it has gotten into the nineties this past week. I will cut them back severely in the winter, if I can without killing them and hopefully will have an answer by then.

We had our septic tank drained this past week and I had a huge back hoe here digging it up and, Yipee! digging holes, trenches and moving big plants for me. So the carissa holly hedge is on the back burner while I get many new beds finished before the extreme heat.
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Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
Original Author
11 years ago
I do really appreciate you answering my question, Brandon. That is exactly what I was hoping to hear. Thank you!!
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
11 years ago
I'll add that you will be much more satisfied with the appearance of your 'new' plant if you cut it all the way back to a VERY short stump....like around 6 inches. The new growth will be full and shrubby. I'd avoid fertilizing it for this first season, if you were planning on it.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
they can be pruned back to a stump and should be just fine.

==>> I USUALLY SUM THIS SYSTEM UP BY SAYING.. YOU CAN.. WAIT FOR IT.. run it over with the truck.. lol ..

ken
Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you Rhizo and Ken. My mil has some Buford hollies pruned that way and because she is elderly, keeps them in that grotesque, unnatural form. She is afraid of them getting big again!
But the ability to cut them back to 6" and have them live/thrive, yes, that is the info I so needed.

I have several knockouts in front of the hedge, (spaced out not another hedge), so I will wait until next winter to do a total reno of both.