Pruning spirea

Advice on pruning old, tall, leggy, (probably) bridalwreath spirea? Thanks!

Take a chainsaw to it at 8" next March. You may have to nip at it a bit during the summer to keep it shapely. If it is Van Houtte or Bridalwreath you won't have many flowers after trimming but it'll be beautiful 2008.

Good luck,
Ernie

Or, you could do what I would do and run over it with a bushhog and then beat it with a board, but, then, I don't like Spireas. If you do, then Ernie's advice is better.

Scott

Scott,
I can't help but wonder if your extreme reaction is similar to when in Jr High you gave the girl you had a crush on a "double nuggie"??? Spiraea, caryopteris, buddleja since when have you denied your garden a little junk food here and there? Kt

Guilty on the latter two. Innocent on the spirea. Really. I swear!

Scott

Hmm...doest thou protest too much?? kt

'Tor' is a good one, and I have that cutleaf one as well, but other than that, I second the bush hog and stick.

I fell for some hype about 'Shirobana' being tri colored. Mine are light pink, pink, and pink. kt

I have some regular bushy ones that are about 10 years old and seriously in need of a haircut. (I didn't know squat 10 years ago and don't know much more now, but I wouldn't buy them again, so I guess that's progress.)

I've read that you can cut them back by about 2/3 in the spring to rejuvenate. Is that correct, just chop with the electric hedge pruner, zip, zip? I really can't see spending the time to prune branch by branch; these bushes are 3ft x 5ft.

The bush hog isn't an option, sorry.

Lesley

KT,

At one time, it was possible to find the real tri-colored spirea on the market. Lately however, it has been nearly impossible, to the point that I gave up. The pink version is still a nice plant, with nice fall color and dense habit. Great for commercial sites where some of the lovely Viburnums dare not set root in.

Kiwigal,

Set your riding lawn mower deck to the highest position, get a big run at those spirea and have at 'em. Or use a chainsaw, then mow them over. Don't believe the others about the board thing, it won't kill them. In fact, they probably like it.

Best Regards,
Ernie

Ernie,
I must say I am disappointed in Monrovia do they now feel the need like Walmart to sell one of everything regardless of quality ? kt

This message was edited Oct 4, 2006 8:39 AM

Thanks, so much. It's as entertaining to read these comments as it is helpful! I've been afraid to do anything for fear of doing the wrong thing. Do I have to wait until spring? Harriett

Hmmm, I wonder if Decumbent's method would get rid of the all-pink one that I planted out front by our board fence. It is spreading ! Too bad the deer haven't taken a liking to it!
LOL. I am enjoying this thread.

LOL.. I can imagine the running start with the lawnmower. I just bought 5 little goldmounds .. do you guys feel the same way about goldmounds? ;0)

We feel most strongly about goldmounds! You should mow them now, beat them in the spring.

Kevin,
I admit I have on very rare occasions been referred to as one of “those” people that always insist they are right but in this case I am (of course). You might recall from your” Dirr is always correct 101 class” that he recommends beating now and mowing in the spring. Now where did I put that spirea board? Hmm is it over by the roll of burlap that I use to wrap these “junk food” shrubs” when gardening friends come to visit and profess I’m protecting a rare species from wind damage. Oh there it is supporting the rotting cold frame that houses the black plastic pot ghetto (hmm some how appropriate)… Eeew covered in slugs…oh well smashed slug juice it’s got to be fertilizer right ahh…two birds with one stone. kt

May I ask..why are goldmounds considered " junk food shrubs"? Or will mowing and "beat it with a board" help maintain the small size? The nursery didn't describe it as an errant child.

garden6,
I think of my squat round spirea like a bowl of pop corn in a room full of teenagers that have just gotten high for the first time..rubber legs and arms flopping everywhere and TONS of spillage. I must warn you that just like teens who exhibit uninhibited behavior you can expect to find lots of little babies in the months to come. kt

OMG, the nursery guy told me they don't produce seeds, that they are sterile! And I was so diligent in researching info about "gold mounds" so me thought! Did I overlook the invasive info? It's not on the plant files unless I overlooked it too?

And we are enjoying being elitist bores just a shade too much. A LOT of people really like spireas, which is why there are so many of them, which is why us elitist bores resent them so. If spireas were rare and new and nowhere to be found, we would be oh so proud to grow them...until we realized that their goal in life is to become big, sprawling, nerve-rattling cacophanies of visual noise. Oops, there I go again. Sorry. If you like spireas, don't let anyone--me included--diminish your enjoyment of them one single bit. If you find at some time in the future that they no longer had the appeal they once had, then the mower and board (Dirr is wrong! Mow in the fall; beat in the spring) method is surprisingly satisfying.

Scott

Well ...at least I can enjoy them for a few seasons before I use the mow and board method to keep them in line. Just the same, you elitists are quite a hoot! ;0)

garden6:

"Junk food" plants may come from the delight that some get from inexpensive common plants (equals easy to grow and afford) that "fill up" spaces in the landscape.

Additionally, around here the common colors for several restaurant chains are red and yellow; any of the many colored-foliage shrubs ('Goldmound' spirea being a regular yellow one, along with the many red-leaved barberries) fit the fast-food/junk food mold.

So, if the shoe fits...I guess I'll have to plant a spirea at home just so I can try the management techniques suggested. I grew up in a big house on 3 acres with an old garden with dozens of ancient Vanhoutte spirea, and we never pruned them. If it had been necessary (or as a punishment, like with the pyracantha), Dad would've made us.

I'm going to rise to the many baits thrown out above, and in no particular order.

L'homme de pomme:

To what lily-livered landscapes do you refer? There are ample members of the clan Viburnum that will go where angels fear to tread. Try to kill a Mohican! Or any run of the mill arrowwood, for that matter. I'll square off against a spirea any old day.

runktrun:

ASIDE -- I'm glad you signed your posts "kt"; I was trying to figure out what the heck a Runk Trun was.

You must have fallen for buying a spirea not in bloom. There are plants that fit all the various hypes (size, foliage, flowers, fall colors) but if you buy them bare, beware. If you want more colors on your current plant, add Garlon for the brown/beige/black spectrum (à la Lucky).

I'll lone you my Lonicera log, if you can't find your Spiraea stick. My honeysuckle need the bush hog.

M in AR:

Good to see you around again; missed your wit.

Lesley and Harriet:

Faint heart n'er won fair shrubbery. Do the deed when you have time.

Pruning after flowering allows for regrowth with new flower buds for the next year. Otherwise, you probably can't kill the devils. If you don't mind looking at the stubs for the winter, prune now. If you want new growth to hide the cuts quickly, wait till spring.

Thanks Virburnum for the education! ;0)

garden6,
Standing before you with head hung and tail between legs Scott is right I want you to feel as enthusiastic and proud of your gold mounds as I am living in MA and growing a beautiful 'Brackens Brown Beauty'. I am not sure but I can only guess that most southerners give it a slightly respectable nod in passing unlike in my home town where they are rev-eared...It is all relative plants like chochkeys are subjective my favorite souvenir from a few weeks camping in the Everglades was one of those roadside shrunken heads!!! I also crossed over a line that I don't usually all for the sake of a cheap joke you are correct I don't know Gold Mound to seed although most spirea do. kt

Thanks V V .

I dug up an 'invasive' S. thunbergii from in front of our house ( where I had planted it , after rescuing it from my son's house in Little Rock). I dug out as much of the roots as I could, then covered the spot with several layers of newspaper. That was this spring. I am continuing to pull adventurous sprouts, from outside the paper mulch. Hopefully I will win!
BTW, I am not a spirea hater...but I prefer to be in control ! I have a huge S. prunifolia that needs the mowing and board treatment ....:-)
Maybe I can get my DH to chainsaw it next spring after flowering.
We are a couple of old fogies ( he's 80, and I'll soon be 74), so these chores are becoming too much for us !

Marian

So I stirred the pot (in a rare moment of mischief)


"L'homme de pomme"

LOL, I like this better than my username. Can I change?

"To what lily-livered landscapes do you refer? There are ample members of the clan Viburnum that will go where angels fear to tread."

I really had Doublefiles or sargentii on my mind when I typed it referring to the lousy soils and open exposure of most of the new construction and/or commercial sites here in the midwest. I did try to leave myself an out and typed "some of the lovely viburnums" with the operative word being some.

"Try to kill a Mohican! Or any run of the mill arrowwood, for that matter."

Hear, hear!

Lest you doubt my techniques- I personally have used the chainsaw method on Van Houtte and it works as described above. It also works well for overgrown shrub roses, redtwig dogwood, Annabelle Hydrangea and Salix 'Hakuro Nishiki.' Odd thing about the Salix, the rabbits ate as much of the new growth as they could. As for the riding mower, that is an adaptation of one of my customers recommendations to his customers. He recommends mowing them off every 2-3 years so that you don't have to get a big run at them.

Can anyone point me to the info about how to make quotes come up in blue or at least how to make them bold? It's cumbersome to read and type a post that isn't formatted.

Thanks,
Ernie

ernie,
You might be a bad influence on my uncontrollable sarcastic side but if your looking for formatting info you might want to start by checking this link. OT were you one of the boys that always sat in the back of the class quietly setting up the innocents for pleasure??? http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/395144/
kt

Kt,

Thanks for the link. I went poking around looking but didn't look hard enough. Simple html, of course. As far as the "setting up of innocents" goes, well......... as I mentioned, it isn't my common modus operandi. I'm too soft hearted to do it often. If it's not going to be very offensive, then I consider it. I did occasionally torment the teachers with off the wall comments/questions and I usually did sit in the back of the room. I will try not to unduly influence you in ways that you may not desire.

Best Regards,
Ernie

Great thread, guys. A little sarcasm with the advice is always more fun. You're right, the little buggers sucker all over the place. Besides the ones that will be getting a haircut (a military-style 'high and tight'), I have another that's about 3.5ft x 6ft. that I'm going to totally get rid of this fall. That thing has suckers 6 feet from the plant, and I have little volunteer seedlings showing up in my front yard, too. If I have to use a gallon of Round Up I will.

They do take up space and they do look good for about a month in spring, but I think I've outgrown them.

Lesley

PS I don't have a riding lawn mower. The electric hedge trimmer will have to do. I just whacked over a foot off the recalcitrant yew hedge on the side of our property and it worked great (except for the part where I let the cord get in the way and cut through it instead!). I don't like yews much any more either. I have nasty allergic bumps all over my arms.

OK, OK..I now realize...even if a bit slow... that there was some bantering going on, but someone forgot to tell me it was bantering going on. Being a relative newbie me thought I would have to rethink the spirea landscaping thing which I had researched. Whew , you elitists had me going for a while, especially with the "mow and board" :~P

Actually, the mow part is For Real!

Thanks, I'll write that one down in my gardening log! :0)

garden6:

Welcome to the tip of the iceberg. You won't be pushed adrift on a floe.

L'homme de pomme:

Question is -- do you want to change? Let's hope not; things are rolling. If we can't unencumber the cumbersome, and bat around some banter, then what are we really?

For some really unrestrained silliness and sarcasm, see here:

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/571021/

It really ought to be a ©£Å§§Ï© thread, IMNTBHO. How many nursery rhymes get posted on T&S?

Here's the ¢hµ®¢h

And here's the š†€€þ£€

Open the Љ®§

And see all the þ€¤þ£€

Thanks for the welcome. I'll try to skate a bit on top of that iceberg as I read in between the lines and through the wit to see if perchance I can glean a few more insights about our trees/shrubs while chuckling. ;0)