Pictures of rose of sharon bushes.. the one in the corner multiplied into a rose of sharon hedge.... I dont know how to begin tackling this

The russian sage has grown into the driveway... I would like to be able to keep the bush but obviously it needs to be trimmed back. My question is just.. how much?

I live in Florida and I just whack everything back down to the ground and it comes back. I don't know that approach is good in all areas of the country! LOL

Lol I'm not about to whack my rose of Sharon's down to the ground. But I might do that to my russian sage.

Where are you located? When I first started gardening I read so much advice about “planting for winter interest” , pruning, whatever. But a lot depends on where you live and how fast what you prune will grow back...what someone says will take 2 years would for me take 5-6 because of my northern climate.

Upstate NY. Rochester to be exact. We have great soil though so things tend to bounce back pretty well. (Well except for in the rock garden behind the pool) For reference we hack back this bush (I dont know the name of it) every year to about two feet and by the end of the season it's about 14 feet tall. If we left it I'm sure it would eclipse the house!

I agree that where you are located will factor into the timing and the severity of any pruning but generally the Russian sage will benefit from a hard prune - not exactly to ground level but in the 4-6" range. And is best done every year to avoid situations like what currently exist :-)

The RofS I personally would shovel prune - I find it to be a messy and singularly unattractive shrub but I realize that some actually do like them. Understanding how the shrub grows will help to decide how best to approach this task and the attached link explains it well and how to best prune according to your existing conditions.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/rose-of-sharon/pruning-rose-of-sharon.htm

I would also be careful in calling out specific members for advice as frequently they offer advice that has no horticultural merit but express it with such a sense of authority that newbies or less experienced gardeners are snowed by their BS. Just a word of caution 😉

If I were to cut the russian sage back to 4 to 6 inches I'd be left with a bunch of thick wooden stems though and I'm wondering if it would just be better to cut it all the way back. I guess I'll have to do more research on if I should cut it back most of the way or all of the way. Is there any way to kind of train it to not grow into the driveway? It's definitely time for it to be cut back no matter what though! As you can clearly see it's completely out of control.

I did watch some videos on the Rose of Sharon just now and think that they gave me some kind of idea on how to prune the two that are more shapely. But the one in the corner I dont really know how to approach it. Also... is shovel pruning just killing a plant? Little confused when I tried to look it up. I love the blooms on the Rose of Sharon, but they have gotten a bit out of hand!

Although it wasn’t what you asked, perhaps move the Russian Sage to a place where it isn’t in the way and replace it with something else? It will only get bigger this year

The correct cutting of the Russian sage is exactly what gardengal told you--4-6 inches; she knows plants and she knows what she is talking about. And I too would shovel prune the ROS. Yes, shovel pruning is total removal.

I’m also in NY, zone 6b, and have a Rose of Sharon that’s overgrown it’s position. I have decided to try cutting it to the ground and letting it regrow as a multi stemmed shrub. At the NYBG I saw it coppiced as a standard. An Italian friend has hers formally pruned into great ovoids. I disagree about its merits. In this area it is a welcome bloomer in late summer when little else is. The foliage is attractive, dark and glossy. And the structure is so malleable you can shape it to your desire. I wouldn’t be so quick to shovel prune!

I offer this advice with great authority and no horticultural merit.

“Coppiced as a standard”. The two techniques are mutually exclusive I think you’ll find, kitasei. Maybe you meant pollarded?

i love my R o S, but then they don't self sow much here. One seedling in all the years I’ve had it. No pests. Late summer blooms. And amenable to cutting back in any way you choose.

The RoS formed a hedge because it reseeds. It's on the invasive list in Virginia for this reason. Around here they bloom when the Japanese beetles are present so I was happy to remove mine.

We enjoy the rose of Sharon so we're going to try pruning hit following the steps and the article shared. We I also found a video that was pretty helpful it basically said to prune the suckers, any branches growing inward, any dead branches, any rubbing branches and then that I could trim from the top.


When looking up the Russian sage I got all sorts of advice some said that I could keep 12" other said 6-8 " and then others said that I could cut it all the way back and it would continue to grow back from the crown. But basically the consensus was that I couldn't over prune the Russian sage. I'm going to try cutting it back 4-6 " today and take a picture and see if you guys think that I should cut it back any further. Since the branches at the base are really thick and woody I feel like cutting it all the way back might be the way to go here especially snce it's never been pruned before. As for transplanting it... I think it's worth a try to prune it first. Depending on how it looks at the end of the season I might transplant it next year

Yes, Floral, I did mean pollard, not coppice!

Look up the Master Gardener’s Club in your area. We love to come out and give advice.