Bulbs
Flower Basics
Flower Beds & Specialty Gardens
Flower Garden
Garden Furniture
Garden Gnomes
Garden Seeds
Garden Sheds
Garden Statues
Garden Tools & Supplies
Gardening Basics
Green & Organic
Groundcovers & Vines
Growing Annuals
Growing Basil
Growing Beans
Growing Berries
Growing Blueberries
Growing Cactus
Growing Corn
Growing Cotton
Growing Edibles
Growing Flowers
Growing Garlic
Growing Grapes
Growing Grass
Growing Herbs
Growing Jasmine
Growing Mint
Growing Mushrooms
Orchids
Growing Peanuts
Growing Perennials
Growing Plants
Growing Rosemary
Growing Roses
Growing Strawberries
Growing Sunflowers
Growing Thyme
Growing Tomatoes
Growing Tulips
Growing Vegetables
Herb Basics
Herb Garden
Indoor Growing
Landscaping Basics
Landscaping Patios
Landscaping Plants
Landscaping Shrubs
Landscaping Trees
Landscaping Walks & Pathways
Lawn Basics
Lawn Maintenance
Lawn Mowers
Lawn Ornaments
Lawn Planting
Lawn Tools
Outdoor Growing
Overall Landscape Planning
Pests, Weeds & Problems
Plant Basics
Rock Garden
Rose Garden
Shrubs
Soil
Specialty Gardens
Trees
Vegetable Garden
Yard Maintenance
Rejuvenation Pruning of Flowering Shrubs
Rejuvenation Pruning of Flowering Shrubs. Gardeners often neglect pruning until a shrub is severely overgrown. Other gardeners prune the shrub back to the same level every year until it becomes dense and tangled with many branches coming from large knots at the pruning site. Use rejuvenation pruning to restore overgrown or too dense shrubs or to...
Gardeners often neglect pruning until a shrub is severely overgrown. Other gardeners prune the shrub back to the same level every year until it becomes dense and tangled with many branches coming from large knots at the pruning site. Use rejuvenation pruning to restore overgrown or too dense shrubs or to encourage new growth on plants that flower on new wood.
What Shrubs to Rejuvenate
Not all shrubs can tolerate severe pruning. It works best on multistemmed, very twiggy shrubs. Abelia (Abelia spp.), deutzia (Deutzia spp.), dogwood (Cornus spp.), forsythia (Forsythia spp.), honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.), hydrangea (Hydrangea spp.), lilac (Syringa spp.), mockorange (Philadelphus spp.), spirea (Spirea spp.), rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus), St. John's wort (Hypericum spp.) and weigela (Weigela spp.) are good candidates for rejuvenation pruning. Other shrubs can be rejuvenated more gradually. Most broadleaf evergreens will not survive heavy pruning but pyracantha (Pyracantha spp.) can be completely cut back and Oregon grape holly (Mahonia aquifolia) tolerates gradual rejuvenation.
Technique
To rejuvenate a shrub cut branches all the way back to the ground in early spring. Use heavy lopping shears and a pruning saw to completely remove the branches 6 to 10 inches above the ground. Such severe pruning stimulates heavy growth. In midsummer remove half the canes that have grown back and head back, or cut off, some of the remaining canes just above outward facing buds. Over the next few years thin out new canes, keeping the strongest and removing thin or weak canes at the ground.
Gradual Rejuvenation
Shrubs can be renewed more gradually by removing 1/3 to 1/5 of the canes each year. Remove the oldest, thickest canes. New growth will quickly replace the growth that was removed. Over time a shrub can be completely rejuvenated without sacrificing a season of bloom. This technique is especially useful for shrubs that are used as screens or barriers or for broadleaf evergreens, which may take two to three years to recover from complete rejuvenation.
Limitations
Rejuvenation pruning should not be done on grafted shrubs as the new growth will be the rootstock rather than the grafted shrub. Shrubs with a great deal of dead wood, extremely overgrown shrubs with large, woody bases or shrubs in weed barrier and rock mulch may not recover well from rejuvenation pruning. Some shrubs are more like small trees, with a central, woody trunk. Do not cut these shrubs back to the ground. Thin out branches, cutting back to a side branch.
