|
| Hi everyone,
We purchased a home last year that was previously owned by an English gardner. There are three large red smoke bushes bordering our back yard. They are approximately 7 ft high and 4 ft wide each. They had the smokey growths on them last year -fall?, but not yet this year. I'm wanting to trim them down some, but I need some advise. They are very healthy looking. I just want to trim them up a little and I would like to encourage more smoke blooms. Please advise on what my plan of action should be. I can post photos tomorrow. Thanks
|
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| It's not time yet, but soon. Normal bloom time is mid-July into August. Cutting them now will prevent them from blooming this year, or at least delay it, but would probably be worth the sacrifice of one year's bloom for the long-term reward of better shape and size. Ideally, the best time to prune these would be very early spring, around the time the crocus and daffodils start to bloom, just before the buds begin to swell.
|
|
- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Sun, Jun 24, 12 at 9:06
| google rejuvenation pruning of shrubs .. in my experience.. these are not the type of shrubs you give a hair cut to ... unless you really know what you are doing ... every place you make a cut.. 2 to 4 buds will break.. and you will start getting large growth at height.. and in a year or two ... they end up starting to lean and fall ... and you end up with a bigger mess than you started with ... if you look in the center.. about 6 inches from the ground .. you MIGHT see prior such cuts ... and that will be an indication.. of how good a gardener.. this English fellow/mum ... was ... in the way back machine.. at my first house.. low learning curve .. i planted one.. about 8 feet from the house.. and came to find out.. that was about 10 feet too close... and i whacked it to the ground ... and by the next summer.. is was easily back to 6 feet.. i dont recall if it flowered that year ... but i was mad at it.. when i walked by with the saw .. lol ... with its vast potential.. its either cut often and hard.. or removed ... do not rule out that option.. in the years to come ... i recall one.. in front of a 100 year old farm house.. trained to tree form.. and nearly covering the entire front of the house.. including the second story ... i would like to see the pix.. and bobs your uncle ... since you brought up the theme ... ken |
Here is a link that might be useful: so weird
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Shrubs Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.