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smoke bush growing out instead of up.

Missy, Traverse City, Mi Z5

10 years ago

My purple leaf smoke bush was getting taller than I wanted it so
I cut it back to about 12" this spring. Now the middle branches are growing upright, but the rest of the branches are growing out and on the ground. I have tied the branches up to give it a bush shape, but I don't know if that will help. Does anyone know if this is typical or how to solve the problem?

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Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
its hard to be specific w/o a pic of your plant ...

it SOUNDS LIKE .... you are in year one.. of a multi year renovation process....

google: renovation pruning of flowering shrubs

otherwise .... who knows w/o a pic ...

i would not bother tying it up.. let it be what it wants to be.. but continue shape it thru pruning ...

ken
Missy, Traverse City, Mi Z5
Original Author
10 years ago
Ken, I did what I was advised to do by the google experts. It was not supposed to be a multi year process. I watched several
you tube videos and this is what they did.
In retrospect, I would have just cut the existing branches back by about half, rather than almost to the ground.
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seems to me ...... i recall that mine took 3 to 5 years.. to bloom.. after transplant ... but mine wasnt as large as your ... but yours did go thru serious transplant stresses this year .. you need to think in shrub time.. rather than our instant gratification world ... it will bloom.. when its ready to bloom ... it takes time.. to grow the mature root mass needed ... as to size.. check the link . and look at its potential ... you are not going to make it a small bush .... its has huge potential ... and as noted. if you cut it down every year ... it will never bloom ... and note.. none of those that are flowering.. are small/young https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Royal+purple+smoke&t=ffcm&iax=1&ia=images if you do decide to to prune it .... rather than just cut it down ... . google REJUVENATION PRUNING OF FLOWERING SHRUBS ... yours sure looks like it has the space it needs and deserves .... ken
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welcome to the forums dave.. if you are going to hang around.. add your location on your member's page ... and if you dont think that is important.. i cant really tell you when its going to resprout .... e.g compare sara's z9 to my z5MI .... anyway ... i am pretty sure you could run this over with a cement truck and not kill it.. so stop worrying about that ... and with no insult to the root mass ... i would expect it to be back to the size you cut down.. in a year or 3... depending on location ... you might want to think about removal.. next time it tries to take over the yard ...unlike children.. you dont have to keep problem plants ... lol... unfortunately.. i dont remember if they bloom on new or old wood.. someone else will have to tell us if it will bloom this year .... so.. at worse.. you lose this years bloom ... ken
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
no.. cutting to the ground was proper.. as your name suggest.. TRUST me on that ...

otherwise.. the half cut back ones.. would flop to the ground in a year or two.. when they exploded in growth at height ...

i cant really comment on GOOGLE EXPERTS ... nor their system.. without a link ..

and again.. i cant really tell you if you did good.. w/o a pic of your plant...

but again.. simply in my minds eye... i would not have tied it up ... personally.. i would rather watch how a plant responds to a certain situation.. than to force my aesthetic on it by binding it into a form of which its not ...

but if it makes you happy.. then who cares what i prefer ...

my gut tells me.. that you have a rather.. naturally unruly plant ... and you are having a hard time.. emotionally .... dealing with it ... and when i get to that point.. the point where my expectations.. are not fulfilled.. i GET RID OF THE PLANT... and plant something that fulfills MY NEEDS... and sometimes i lose money on the plant ... but on the other hand.. money lost is better than being irritated by it.. every time i look at it .....

you are going to have a hard time forcing a plant into a shape that it is going to fight ... and this plant... is fairly aggressive.. in doing whatever it wants ...

i wish you luck ...

ken
Sara Malone Zone 9b
10 years ago
Cotinus are aggressive growers and when pruned hard(especially when dormant), respond with exuberant growth. That means branches coming out every which way. Just cut off the ones that are not to your liking (in this case the ones growing horizontally). If you want to keep it really tidy it will mean selective pruning during the growing season as well. I have generally decided to let most of mine be rangy and irregular; I do keep the one that is in front of the house neater, and that means constantly removing suckers, side branches, long branches, etc.

Sara
Missy, Traverse City, Mi Z5
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for the info. I'm sorry I cut it back, because it really was nicely shaped before, just getting too tall. My parents had one for years and it was always nice looking. Ken, I'll take a picture after I untie it.

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