when to prune dwarf yaupon bushes... I'm a chicken

12 years ago

I'm making this too hard, I know, but I've never pruned my dwarf yaupon bushes. At rising 20 years, they need to be pruned some, but I'm not sure how to do it without killing them or making them look ugly.

Can someone please walk this chicken through it? Thank you.

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Comments (5)

pjtexgirl
12 years ago
Yaupon holly (I. vomitoria) is also best left unpruned; however, trimming holly bushes like these can be done when absolutely necessary to maintain appearance. Wait until dormancy for heavy pruning or simply trim as needed for shape.
roselee z8b S.W. Texas
12 years ago
I've had a dwarf yaupon holly hedge in the front for about 20 years. I trim them to a nice rounded shape with battery operated hedge shears (one of my favorite tools) after their spring growth spurt. But as PJ says a light trim can be done anytime to shape them and maintain appearance, but if trimmed a lot they will be slow to fill back in until cooler weather.

About three years ago I decided my hedge was getting too tall and uneven; some bushes were taller than others. So in very early spring I took the chance of trimming them quite a bit to even out their height and shorten them. I took about 8 inches off some of the bushes. Nothing but bare twigs were showing along the top, but in a few weeks they had filled in nicely. I gave them a little fertilizer to help them along.

Another little tip -- even though dwarf yaupon holly is drought tolerant make sure it's getting some irrigation in this drought. I had never watered mine before we took out the lawn in front and put in gravel and guess what ... they missed getting the water from the lawn and a few branches died before I realized what was going on. I put in a drip irrigation line under them and now they get watered about every two weeks.
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Butterfly bushes should only be "drastically" pruned to within about 12" from the base, in early spring. You can judiciously prune errant branches, etc., throughout the growing season. Cuttings are easy to grow. Choose reasonably new (not the woody ones) stems about 6" or larger, removing the foliage except for the tip leaves. Rooting hormone helps, but is not necessary. Put the cutting in potting soil, sand, whatever, they are not picky. Enclose the cutting in a plastic bag. I test the cutting by tugging on the top of the stems, and if the stem seems resistant, it has roots. Harden them off from the baggy by opening the top for a few days, and then removing it entirely. So easy to do! Heavy fall or winter pruning is not advised - mine died one year after pruning it heavily in late fall. Now I leave all the dead stems over winter and prune it in early spring. Someone said that they successfully pruned theirs in late fall, but I wouldn't risk it. As Bob says, there are many new dwarf hybrids out there now. Another pretty one is Silver Anniversary. MissSherry has a beautiful Ellen's Blue that I covet...lol. I planted a Nanho purple one time, though, which is a dwarf, and it did not attract any butterflies at all in my garden. Others have said it has for them. The old standbys like Pink Delight, White Profusion, and the yellow flowering buddleias are good nectar sources for sure. Susan
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How much space do I need to give them? They will eventually want to get 15 to 20 feet wide and about as tall unless you espalier or do other planer pruning along the wall. Looks enough like yaupon to me to think your builder probably has it right. Most of the 20+ year old ones in our neighborhood have been trained as multi-trunk trees, but have seen single trunk used nicely more often in newer plantings. Could help to know the gender of your plants before you move them - there's a small chance the builder/nursery might know. Berries on the females change the look (improve, imho) and would be nice to have matching plants, male or female, anywhere you may be wanting some symmetry.
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rock_oak_deer
12 years ago
We didn't trim our Dwarf Yaupons until they were mature at about 20 years old and now we trim them every other year or so in the spring. They were very out of shape so we cut back quite a lot and it didn't hurt them a bit because they leafed out right away. I don't even think you could tell even with a lot cut off. Now just a light shape up is all they need. I leave the ones along the front of the house pretty natural and not sheared. Leave the top narrower than the bottom so the whole shrub can get light and you should be good.

There's one in the garden that I like to clip into a soft round shape so either look works with the Dwarf Yaupon.

Really, you can't hurt them trimming in the spring because they do grow back. If you trim them in the fall they won't leaf out as quickly so you'll have some bare stems.
rock_oak_deer
12 years ago
Here's a link that gives a pretty good description

Here is a link that might be useful: Trimming Dwarf Yaupon
merrybookwyrm
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you all.

I wouldn't even be thinking about trimming them, except that one of them has grown over the driveway...

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when to prune dwarf yaupon bushes... I'm a chicken

Comments (5)

pjtexgirl

roselee z8b S.W. Texas

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merrybookwyrm
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when to prune dwarf yaupon bushes... I'm a chicken

Comments (5)

pjtexgirl

roselee z8b S.W. Texas

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