This plant has humbled me. i dont know how to prune it. the instructions sthat say to prune back to 3 or 4 buds does not seem to apply when the plant has, over the last 8 years , grown to 7 feet despite pruning back to 4.5 feet.every spring.
clearly i dont know how much growth to expect in a season so thar it will be 4 feet when it blooms mid summer.
it rained heavily spring though early summer(after early spring haircut) could i have gone back and pruned again .?
That question is moot because today i lost patience with it It was so unwieldy and out of proportion i said the heck with the flowers and icut it back back a foot, although i could see iwas cutting off
buds.( The newly cut stems still have buds.)
in addition to general guidelines ( is this like pruning a hydrangea paniculata?) how do buds form along the stem of althea? it it possible more buds will form at lower part of stem? or if stem tips grow new laterals might there be flower buds? (does a shrub even have ”lateral” shoots?)
will the stems regrow straight from the cut
or will they make an ugly fork?
what kind of cut determines either outcome?
if there is regrowth in August will it be at the cut tips.?
what determines whether the shrub needs renewal pruning or just a ”haircut””?
finally where can i learn this stuff?. Websites for the general gardener offer very broad guidelines and no exceptions need apply.
i dont want Phd level info but i think i’m past high school level!
websites? books ? i have Dirr but hes more into propagation than plant maintenance
i do apologise for repetious lack of clarity but as i said, i feel so ignorant its challenging to formulate my questions
thanks
marie
woodyoak
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
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Marie TulinOriginal Author
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