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Can I prune a Viburnum now?

15 years ago

I live in central OH and I have 3 overgrown Viburnum bushes that I want to cut down about 2 feet. They're about 9 feet tall right now. Also, I'd like to prune out some of the internal branches as they're really intertwined.

I have no idea what cultivar these are - they're probably 18 years old. They have the most atrocious smelling cream flowers in summer - I liken the smell to bad body odor so I am not worried about not having flowers on the bushes this summer. :-)

What I am worried about is they have tiny little leaf buds all over the bushes and those would be cut off during pruning. Will the bush just make new ones once it gets warmer? I don't want a leafless bush come spring but I think it would be so much easier to prune it when there's no leaves!

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Comments (11)

Embothrium
15 years ago
Maybe V. lantana. If they're too big for the spot and they smell, well...
laceyvail 6A, WV
15 years ago
This is the time of year to prune--after a shrub leafs out, you only prune to remove broken branches. But if you don't like the shrubs, why not remove them?
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I agree that pruning to give the viburnum some room would be fine, but not a severe cutting back at this time of year. If you shorten some of the stems, it will force the side stems on those branches to develop. I do that deliberately to make the shrubs bushier. If you keep deadheading for instance, every time to cut off a flower, the two dormant buds on either side will develop and flower - so you remove one spent flower and get two in return! About a month ago, I cut about 6" off the ends of all the branches to force more sideshoots to develop and flower.
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Dead wood can be pruned close to the base if you do not see any leaf out by mid-May. That is an at worst scenario and usually applies to pants in their first year of being planted. Yours should definitely leaf out much earlier but it is ok to wait. The lazy approach to identify dead wood is to wait. You can also use your nails to scratch the stems and see if you notice green or not. You can leave blooms from 2014 for winter interest or you can cut the string that attaches the bloom to the stem. That is called deadheading and you can read more about it in Method 1 of the link below, under Removing Old Blooms. These could produce blooms so better leave them alone until June. And if you have any dead stems during the growing season, feel free to cut them at any time. When time comes to prune in June 2015, you can give them a buzz and cut the stems by a quarter or in half. The plant will then trigger some new growth and invisibe flower buds at the 'new' ends of the stems. From those flower buds, you will get blooms in Spring 2016. Other people cut 1/3 of the longest stems down to the ground on Year 1, the second longest get cut in Year 2 and the rest on Year 3. It is called rejuvenating and is done every 5-10 years when you notice bloomage problems in terms of size and number. Luis PS - I would do a soil test, even if you end up using those cheap soil test kits, to see how the nitrogen/phosphorus/potassium levels are. This post was edited by luis_pr on Mon, Jan 19, 15 at 20:02
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I have a feeling this is a story of three answers. Yes go ahead and prune, oh no, the "best" time is (insert time here), and forget about pruning, replace. Can You? Yeah. It sounds like you have some serious cutting to do and you probably don't want to wait much longer. If you could, there might be benefit derived from timing the pruning with start of growing season...but you reference situations where I'm not going to judge if you do or don't do it now.
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Prune them in the spring when other roses are pruned. Don't prune them hard, but back to about 3 or 4 ft. Watch for older, dying canes and remove those at the base. You may want to prune for height after the growth they will put on after bloom. Don't worry about pruning off flowers, that isn't really how these things work.
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laceyvail 6A, WV
15 years ago
I should amend my previous post. Of course, spring blooming shrubs are pruned right after they bloom, otherwise you'd lose the blooms. But when you're pruning to reshape most shrub, late winter/early spring is the best time to do it.
Embothrium
15 years ago
Timing always depends on what kind of shrub they are and the way in which a particular kind responds to pruning.
CaroleOH
Original Author
15 years ago
They're not way too big for the spot - they're in a bed on the corner of my garage. They're covering the side garage light and tend in mid summer to rub against the car when going into the garage.

I guess my question still is - if I cut off the emerging leaf buds, will they just grow new ones? I don't want to replace these as they are full grown and we may move in a year or two so don't want to invest in new shubbery.

Thanks.
Iris GW
15 years ago
if I cut off the emerging leaf buds, will they just grow new ones?

Most likely they will. It may take a little longer in the spring for them to recover, but they should.

When we had an Easter freeze spell about 2 years ago, many plants were already leafed out and had to recover. It took time, but they did.
harryshoe zone6 eastern Pennsylvania
15 years ago
Your description reminds me of Winterthur. I found the blooms to have a peculiar fragrance which was likened, by guests, to many things - most unrepeatable here...

The plant did have great, glossy, foliage but eventually got about 9' tall and 6' wide as it outgrew its spot. I finally removed it.

It was pruned annually, but not as drastically as you suggest. It never seemed to mind and always looked full.
brandon7 TN_zone7
15 years ago
"I found the blooms to have a peculiar fragrance which was likened, by guests, to many things - most unrepeatable here..."

I have Winterthur, but am wondering what it smells like to others. So Harry, can you give me a hint?
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
15 years ago
More than most other shrub species, viburnums seem to produce fragrances which are very pleasing to some and vastly offensive to others. Personally, I find most scented viburnums to be quite appealing and that includes 'Winterthur'. But then I also like the scent of V. tinus, which many liken to old sweat sox, so go figure!

I believe the sense of smell must be high subjective :-) And it may very well be influenced by soils and other growing conditions as well.
brandon7 TN_zone7
15 years ago
I wanna know what Harry's guests thought it smelled like. (-:
viburnumvalley
15 years ago
I would have guessed that caroleoh has arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum). These pretty much stink in flower, and they bloom late spring/early summer here. About the only viburnums that bloom later are Viburnum nudum and its clones, which have a bit sweeter scent but not in the range of the spice girls like Viburnum carlesii and her offspring.

brandon7:

harryshoe may be reluctant to relate the rancorous or rancid, but I can tell you the range of smells of over 100 different species and clones that have a home here. I will not speak for him and his guests, as I don't find 'Winterthur' objectionable olfactorily. I do have a problem with Viburnum dilatatum, unfortunately, which is one of my favorites for overall performance.

Reproductive fluids is as near a description as I can match it with. gardengal48's mention of old sweat socks fits nearby. I've even heard some reputable plantsmen attribute that to the odor of fallen leaves of some species. Go figure.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and fragrance - well, that's a rhinoceros of a different color.

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