I have several very tall lilac and arborvitae plants on my property. The lilacs don’t bloom as nicely as they used to, and I’m thinking it could be because they are overgrown (too tall, too filled in). If I cut them back now, will they fill in this season? How much can I cut them back?
As for the arborvitaes, I’d like to cut them down to almost nothing (from chest-high hedge status) to try to get them more manageable. They are not privacy screens or anything, they’re just big, ugly, and hard to maintain. How much can I hack these down without killing them (or having them look like shit for several seasons)?
For the lilacs: If you prune now, you’ll get zero bloom, since they bloom on old wood (buds were set last summer). Wait a month and prune them after they bloom. Cut back about a third of the plant over each of the next three years.
Arborvitae: Since they’re more or less conical, a lop will mean it will take a couple of seasons for it to regain shape. I’ve got no experience with them directly – though I did cut back a similar (but more globular) evergreen, which ended up taking about five years before it stopped looking odd.
oops, I don’t have an arborvitae, I have some other kind of evergreen shrub. It’s one of those typical hedge-type shrubs that people trim to be squared off and run along a property line or up against a house. I have no idea what it’s called.
When you say “cut back” should I cut it down by one third (ie take it from 12 feet to 8 feet), thin it out by one third, or something else, or does it not matter so long as I only take 1/3 or less of the material of the plant?
About the lilac - I’ve seen the recommendation to cut one-third of the old canes to the ground per year over a three-year period. The idea is to end up with a more compact and vigorous shrub.
Before you start pruning, you need to know what it is. Take a sample of your mystery evergreen bush down to the Oakland County MSU Extension Office and ask them to ID it for you. It’s what they do. It’s free. Your Tax Dollars At Work.
Michigan State University Extension - Oakland County
North Office Building (#26 East), 2nd Floor
1200 North Telegraph Road
Pontiac, Michigan 48341
And I’d guess your “standard hedge type bush” is probably a yew – if so, you can cut it back pretty radically without killing it. The advice to talk to your extension people is good, though.
Yews, if that’s what you have, are sturdy, and they’ll survive a massive pruning. However, all the green stuff is on the outside, so they may look ratty for a season or two while they fill in. Yews are pretty cheap, though, so you might be better off starting over with new plants. Easy for me to say; I don’t have to yank out the old stumps. :eek:
Sometimes, Caridwen, flowering shrubs need balanced fertilizer to bloom vigorously. If the bush is next to the lawn, all it ever gets to eat is that high-nitrogen stuff you put on your lawn, that 34-2-2. Nitrogen’s the first number,and it grows leaves. There’s hardly any of the other two. Get some 12-12-12, and scatter some around each bush.
Moving shrubs and trees works best when they’re going into or coming out of dormancy. That is, early spring or late fall. Dig the new hole before you dig up the shrub. The less time out of the safety of the earth, the better. Water well, and thank the shrub for putting up with such rude treatment.
Arborvitae are extremely resiliant and able to take a good hacking. They grow decently quickly…Our deer in our yard keep ours at bay…or lat least as far as their heads can reach…
Lilacs actually do better with benign neglect, so if you haven’t been fertilizing them, don’t. They like alkaline soil, so you might give 'em a couple of handfuls of lime if your soil is acid – one easy “natural” fertilizer is wood ashes, like from a fireplace or wood stove.
No, none are huge. Except for the ones that bloom they’re a bit sorry looking.
The tallest one is about 5-6’ tall and the other two about 3’4’ tall. They’re planted in a row, not too close together. The one that’s doing well is in the sun and the other two get a great deal of shade from the neighbors trees.
Yup, very movable – now is fine.You’ll want to dig up as large a root ball as you can stand to – at least three feet across, and a couple of feet deep. Dig the new hole somewhat larger than the root ball you’re going to bring with the bush, and throw an inch or two of compost in the bottom. Drag over the bush (use a tarp) and position it in the hole. Fill in around the root ball with a mix of compost and dirt, packing it down as you fill. You’ll end up with extra dirt – make a dam around the bush to hold water while it gets established. Water well, and make sure it gets a good soaking once a week for the next couple months .
On a related note, can you trim a rose bush in the spring? I mean, I know I can because I did. Did I just make it not flower this summer? There didn’t appear to be any new growth yet when I did it though. What do you think?
Spring is the best time to prune a rose – they bloom on new wood (this season’s growth). When did you prune, and where are you? The “no signs of growth” thing bothers me – there should be little red buds (leaves-to-be) all over that puppy.
I pruned it probably 3 weks ago or so. We had a couple days of 70 and 80 degree temps. I’m in Wisconsin so spring is really just getting here now. The weeping mulberry I have in the front is just now starting to show leaf buds.
I didn’t actually trim that much off of it, maye 20-25%. I would actually like to trim it a little bit more but I don’t want to take off too much. Is there a reasonable maximum that I should stay below?
