anything can be pruned ...

but w/o a picture.. it is hard to give any useful information ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: try the first link

I guess I just need to know how it responds to pruning. I have not seen the shrub. It was just described to me as being 15-20 feet tall and close to 10 feet wide. I think he probably just wants to cut it back by maybe a third. Some plants respond to pruning better than others and I just need to know how Michelia figo would respond to being cut back by a third or so.

Dear auhort 1990,
The banana shrub is one of those classic, heirloom Southern plants, cherished by gardeners since antebellum days. A magnolia relative, the banana shrub ranks up there with the Southern, or Bull Bay magnolia, azaleas, camellias, Lady Banksia roses, and the like. It is a graceful, evergreen tree with deliciously scented magnolia-like flowers that appear in April and May. I would never consider top-pruning a mature banana shrub. Doing so would destroy its grace and beauty. I recommend that your great-uncle allow his banana shrub to grow naturally and unrestrainedly. However, with his banana shrub being tree-sized, he might consider "limbing up" the plant to expose its trunk and lower branching structure. This would give the plant a more tree-like appearance and, thus, make it all the more beautiful and valuable in the landscape.

Agree with last post but would like to add Michelia is more than a magnolia relative, it has been subsumed into Magnolia, making the species in question Magnolia figo.

Also note that "Banksia" is not a word. The Lady Banks rose is Rosa banksiae, botanically. Banks or banksiae yes, "Banksia" no.

Although used repeatedly it is still erroneous, as is using the common name hellebore in place of the generic name Helleborus, i.e. "hellebore niger", "hellebore hybridus" etc.

Dear bboy,
I beg your pardon; but here in the South, "Lady Banksia" is a perfectly acceptable and widely used common name of the Lady Banks rose. In his _Landscape Plants for the Southeast_ (Columbia: USC Press, 1984, p. 299), Wade T. Batson, the eminent, late botanist, lists 'Lady Banksia,' as the only common name of _Rosa banksiae_. I should think that a Google search would reveal as much.

i prune mine like jay recommends. i removed much of the lower-level branches to create a more arborescent form. the shrub never pouts whenever i prune. i have taken a few of the main top branches out after some wind damage, too.
based on my experience, i don't think it would affect the health of the shrub to prune back by as much as you mention.
it will just change the form of it.

In the entry for _Michelia figo_, Michael Dirr (_Dirr's Trees and Shrubs for Warm Climates: An Illustrated Encyclopedia_. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2002) notes that [the banana shrub] "withstands heavy pruning and still looks good" (p.231).

I planted a tree like this almost five years ago. It has beautiful, green, supple foilage, but has never bloomed once! It is nearly 7 feet tall. What does this mean? Any ideas, tips, suggestions, about how to encourage blooms? I fertilize with Holly Tone, and 20-20-20. Sunlight is partial. I live in Southeastern VA.

Thanks!

Do you think there may be a possibility that all that fertilizer is causing your banana shrub to put its energy into growth at the expense of flower production? We have the species form of _Michelia figo_ and one named cultivar _Michelia figo_ 'Port Wine.' The species form has been in our yard since the early 1970's, and 'Port Wine' since ca. 1990. I think 'Port Wine' blooms a little more heavily than the species, and its blossoms are tinged with purple. They are in partial shade, and the soil is a rich. clay-based loam. We've never fertilized the banana shrubs, and they grow lushly, blooming in April and May without any care. I suggest imposing a moratorium on fertilization, which may enable your plant to divert a little energy to flower production.