Shrub Care

Having a good sniff of the early flowering Deutzia X hybrida 'Mont Rose’

We have a lovely flowering Deutzia X hybrida 'Mont Rose’ shrub in the garden. It has a slightly aromatic scent and attracts load of bees. It’s a stunning, colourful start to our shrub collection year and it’s the first time I’ve seen it in flower. 

The reason for this is that I have been a bit enthusiastic with my pruning since moving into the house three years ago. I didn’t let the shrub grow as that it has a tendency to hang over the fence and go into the neighbour’s garden. I am also limited for space on the bed it grows in and leaving it untended means less room for vegetable’s to be planted. This year I decided just to let it grow and I am really pleased I did.  The blooms are amazing.  

So how can I make sure that the shrub flowers as well next year and why should we prune shrubs?

Why prune shrubs?

Shrubs create the structure in a garden so it's important to keep them in good condition with regular pruning.  Regular pruning, usually after flowering along with mulching and feeding will help the shrubs to look good. Regular pruning will also help to keep the shrub in its allocated space and not take over the garden.

How and where to cut

Use sharp tools and make clean cuts without leaving snags. Cut close to buds, but not into them, and always above which will stop rotting.

Pruning young shrubs

• Early pruning helps establish a shapely shrub with vigorous, balanced growth.
• Most evergreen shrubs do not need thinning or formative pruning. However all shrubs benefit from shortening any excessively long shoots and cutting out weak or damaged growth.
• Deciduous shrubs are more likely to need pruning into shape; this is known as ‘formative pruning’. Young shrubs often grow lots of shoots so you will have to thin them early on.
• ‘Correct lopsided growth by lightly pruning longer shoots and hard pruning weak stems.

Rejuvenating old shrubs

Shrubs such as forsythia and buddlea can soon accumulate masses of old, dead wood in the centre if they are not pruned regularly. The best way to rejuvenate these plants is to cut them back during the dormant season. First cut out dead, diseased and crossing stems, and then thin the number of remaining stems by half.

Shrubs that respond to severe pruning, such as ribes, philadelphus and my Deutzia specimen may be cut almost to ground level to re-establish a framework of new shoots. If the shrub is old and it's hard to predict a successful revival, take cuttings just in case.

Pruning shrubs in pots

A lot of us have shrubs in pots. Once a container shrub reaches maturity it is usually best repotted annually in spring, or every other year, using the same or similar sized container. If you find the plant is very pot-bound, this is a good time to lightly prune the roots. Prune about one-third of the thicker non-fibrous roots back to the intact rootball, but avoid damaging the fibrous feeder roots. Repot in fresh compost and finish by pruning the top growth by about one-third to balance the root loss.

Coppicing and pollarding shrubs

Shrubs grown for their colourful stems or foliage, such as dogwood, need to be cut down every spring to 4-5 buds to encourage new growth. This is known as coppicing. If you want to keep a framework of older stems, cut down one-third of the stems.

A similar technique is called ‘pollarding’ where stems are cut back to the same point a single stem or framework of stems. After pruning, feed and mulch the plant.

Pruning shrubs in autumn

After a summer's vigorous growth, it is a good idea to give your shrubs a light prune in the autumn to keep them in shape. Once deciduous shrubs lose their leaves, it is easy to see the plants' overall shape and decide what needs to be cut back.

Pruning my Deutzia

In a week or so the flowers will have gone. It will be then that I can cut the shrub back and cut out the old flowering stems. I have some mulch to go around the base to help feed and keep in the moisture.

As the shrub will be contained and reduced dramatically in size, I will be able to plant annual vegetable crops around and underneath it, so it’s a win –win situation. I didn’t get one complaint from the neighbour either.