To prune or not to prune?
LaurieH (7a South Jersey USA)
7 years ago
I need some advice on whether to go ahead and prune a one year old, 16 inch tall obesum which is sprouting what appear to be two new leaf nodes at its apex. It has about eight branches closer to the base, then one very tall skinny main shoot with new "forks" at the top. Very weird and clearly unbalanced, but it is now indoors and under 24W LED lights until next spring. A few months ago, I would not have hesitated to cut off the long branch and let the lower ones do their thing; maybe try rooting the cutting. Should I do this now, or wait until spring? It's one of my first and nicest home grown from seed plants.
Pix attached. Thanks in advance for any and all advice.
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To prune or not to prune?
Comments (2)I would remove the lower branch on the right - it is just in the way and makes the tree look off balance. And it adds nothing to vigor. Continue to develop the upper branches into a proper crown....See Moreto prune or not to prune old damage
Comments (1)I would take the opportunity to prune out the damaged areas and shape to your preferences. Particularly since as you stated it is historically a fast grower....See MoreMy sketchy Norway Spruce - to prune or not to prune.. yada yada
Comments (7)It did, it was just a standard norway spruce - at least that's what the tag said. Like a 4-5' b-and-b. It flushed out a lot of growth last year and survived our bad drought with a lot of manual watering. It did have a lot of excess roots that had 'escaped' the burlap and was quite a nest of roots. In hindsight I probably should have cut them back to avoid a risk of girdling, but I ended up shaking out the wood chips and really watering it in well. Hopefully that doesn't come back to bite me. You think those hard brownish 'lumps' may end up shooting too? Yeah I'm in no rush... I'll at least wait until the other one I have shoots and see what happens....See MoreTo prune or not to prune- summer edition
Comments (16)Olivia can get up to 6+ feet in 2-3 years in California and elsewhere with mild winter. Unlike in the UK, it is definietely not a rose that stays within the 4 feet tall range. In fact most David Austin roses that said 4 feet in height in their catelog will get to at least 5 - 6 feet unless you live in areas with issues of winter die back, in zone 5 - 6. My Olivia got up to 6 feet after 2 years even with extensive summer pruning. It does throw octopus canes. During its first year it reached 4 feet. It is in the back of the my rose bed. You can safely prune those long canes for Olivia. It won't mind at all. After all it is not a once blooming old garden rose which you dont' want to prune at this point of the year. However, if you wish to have rose bushes that stay around 3 - 4 feet with rouind shape, most Austins are not in that category. The exceptions are Munstead Wood and Boscobel, which I managed to keep around 3&1/2 feet tall. Agree with threelittlelights13 that planting in groups may help in the look. My garden is semi-gormal with a lot of boxwood which were planted 1&1/2 feet apart - now all grown together. and helped to create a more formal look. I am not sure that's what you are looking for, and perhaps you just want a neater looking garden. Nevertheless, I included a few photos below. Those in the fronts are Boscobel and Bolero which does stay wtihin 4 feet with pruning. The yellow is Julia Child which actually reached 5 feet in the spring....See More
SoCal Stewart (San Diego, Ca Zone 10A/10B)
7 years agoLaurieH (7a South Jersey USA) thanked SoCal Stewart (San Diego, Ca Zone 10A/10B)LaurieH (7a South Jersey USA)
7 years ago
rcharles_gw (Canada)
7 years agoLaurieH (7a South Jersey USA)
7 years agoJust gave my plant a haircut (or is it a beheading?) Will put this back under lights tomorrow, after a rest on my windowsill, and see what happens. I can now see four new shoots emerging down below, which hopefully will give me a nice stubby plant over time. Thanks again, Rick!
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rcharles_gw (Canada)