My shrubs rock but they've got massive!

Formal shrubs and bushes look the bees' knees when shaped to a nice round or a tidy 'bob'. But what happens when they get ever bigger and suddenly gigantic?! Here are some tips.

Shrub about to get a haircut

Evergreen shrubs like laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) and weigelas (pictured above) look great when snipped to shape - into a nice round ball or dome for example. They look lush but suddenly you notice they're getting too big for the garden. Plants grow - of course - but it can be overwhelming when they're growing at the rate of a teenager!

Just what do you do with these shrubs that yes, are attractive but have got to hot-air balloon-like dimensions?

Here's where you may need to roll up your sleeves and do a bit of serious work. Time to get stuck in, tools at the ready and prune like you mean it! Think of the expression ‘to make omelettes you need to break eggs’ and you’ll be be on the right tracks.

ATTENTION - This is renovative pruning to get your shrub back in control so you may lose next year's flowers. However with good care your garden shrub will be back flowering the following year.

What do I need to do?

Picture the scene. You're in one of my gardens in East Yorkshire. You've a big shrub in front of you. (In this case a Weigela- pretty but getting way too big!) Find your way into the centre of the plant, towards ground level preferably, and select a quarter to a third of the thick stems to cut out. Yes - we mean business!

Get into the centre to remove one in three or four main stems

With secateurs or pruning saw remove a quarter or third of the main stems.

HANDY TIP - Having done this (a little breathless now admittedly) I’ve got lots of stems and leaves as green waste. Here’s where I get out my shredder and cut up the stems to small- nuggets ideal for composting.

Having removed this amount of leaves the shrub will look bare, uneven and possibly scraggly. In the long run however it's great news for the plant and you as the gardener. Removing this growth:

• allows you to work around the shrub to prune it more easily

• gets light into the centre of the shrub. This encourages new young shoots to pop up.

Now once you remove these branches and leaves you can tidy up what's left of the shrub. I like to bring down the stems to buds facing the direction I want the new shoots to grow in. I'm going to prune to create a good balanced framework of branches.

The finishing touches - pruning to an outward facing bud

What shrubs does this work on?

Here are some shrubs that this method works on. There are many others of course but I use this method on the following:

• Weigela

• Spiraea

• Laurel

• Shrubby lonicera

• Euonymus (evergreen-type)

• Virburnum plicatum

• Yew

• Escallonia (spiky- gloves at the ready!)

• Berberis (spiky- gloves at the ready!)

• Snowberry

• Photinia

When is best to prune like this?

As a rule wait until the flowers have turned brown and withered, wait for around a week and get to work at this point.

Keep an eye on the weather though. September 2023's started with a hot spell and little rain. Removing a large amount of leaves and branches when it's sunny and hot can stress your plant. Steel it from the effects of hot weather by putting some rich compost around the base of your plant and watering it well. (With rain water from the water butt if possible.)

Conclusion

Weigela recently pruned

You have your newly-renovated prized shrub, temporarily a bit bare, but with an even framework of branches. Sunlight is now able to get to the centre to encourage new shoots to sprout from there.

As a result you've really reduced the size of the shrub together with rejuvenating it for fresh new healthy growth. Voila!