|
| Before I could research and learn the proper way to thin out and prune our 5-6' tall abelias, I came home to discover they had been chopped down about three feet. Now all the green is totally gone and nothing is left but a tight mess of 3-4 feet tall brown brambles. I'd guessed the way to trim them would be to thin out all those millions of branches, and knew this would be a major, ouchy, awful chore, so had been putting it off. Now I'm wondering if we should prune them down more and basically begin afresh.
Would greatly appreciate advice. These are major privacy shrubs. We are in Sunset zone 23. TIA! |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| Leave them be. They'll regrow. |
|
| Thanks for reply, jean. Are they supposed to always have underpinnings of a zillion brown twigs? It looks like all that mess should be eliminated so that new supple,green growth can begin...no? And when they do grow back to their arching beauty, how should they be pruned? TIA, again. |
|
| I hope you didn't pay someone to "help" you in the garden. If the pruner was someone related to or close to you, I assume they heard your shriek and the door slam And when they asked what the matter was, you told them....didn't you? |
|
| It was the latter: "If the pruner was someone related to or close to you, I assume they heard your shriek and the door slam And when they asked what the matter was, you told them....didn't you?" |
|
| Abelia respond wonderfully to a proper rejuvenation pruning...which is cutting them all the way back to that they can begin anew. THEN, the idea is to keep them thinned out from then on. When thinning out canes (in the future) clip them all the way back to a low branch. That will insure that your plants stay shrubby from the bottom, too. Rejuvenation pruning is typically recommended for the late winter, when the spring growth can best take full advantage of the situation. However, since yours have already been drastically chopped back, I worry about the effect on the root system if you wait too long to do it again. You see, your abelia will draw on energy reserves from the root system to regrow new branches and foliage. This activity can cause quite a depletion of those reserves....which are probably at a low point at this time of year. Cutting them back AGAIN in the late winter could be very stressful, maybe even mortal. To add to the problem, with all of the foliage gone (as you say), your plants will not be able to rebuild those reserves back. It's the leaves that manufacture the energy that is sent to the roots and other parts of the plant for growth and development. I guess that I would recommend that if these plants have been chopped recently, I'd take them all of the way down now. Cutting back to less than 6 inches is suggested for this procedure. Do it neatly and cleanly. At least, any new growth will be at the right place! I'd not fertilize your plants at this time, either. |
|
- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Wed, Aug 11, 10 at 12:48
| Are they supposed to always have underpinnings of a zillion brown twigs? ===>>>> if i understand this comment.. you ask if the interior is supposed to have leaves ... as the canopy extends.. it shades out the interior.. and the plant will not waste energy growing leaves... where the sun dont shine.. for lack of a better cliche.. lol ... and this is one reason.. or the major reason that you do NOT trim or shear.. such a plant .... as rhizo noted.. you use RENOVATION PRUNING .... google that term.. and you out to find mucho info in that regard ... ken |
|
| Thanks so much, rhizo and ken! Isn't Google a marvelous thing?! I did just that, and there it was: renovation pruning! I Google all the time, and knew I could go there, but first I'd hoped that you knowledgeable ones here would give me some help, and you just did...great! So, we're gonna do it...down they go. From hence forth I will keep them from becoming a tangled mess of a zillion underpinnings (yep, ken, just what I meant). You all are the best. Thanks again. oh, and I'm trusting that our no- freeze mild climate makes pruning them at this time okay. |
|
- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Thu, Aug 12, 10 at 8:30
| the only trick to using any search engine.. is knowing what term to insert into it .. eh??? GOOD LUCK!!!! ken |
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.