Pruning

[grenhouse]

Hi all,

not too bad with veg, but shrubs etc i'm only just learning!

I have a buddleia in the front which has some new shoots on but still has the seed heads from last year, do I prune or leave?

I also have a very large phyllostachys aurea which looks sad with it's big pointy leaves drooping, do these need pruning?

Any help greatly appreciated.

steve

[Alison]

I used to have a buddleia which I used to cut right back every year and it came back twice as strong.

[grenhouse]

how far back did you prune it?

[Two_Sheds]

Prune the buddleja back to knee or waist height. I've just done the 3 at school, they've never been done before and the branches are arm thickness

[Aberdeenplotter]

Buddleias are very forgiving and can be cut back almost to ground level. The harder you prune, the more the shrub seems to like it

[Gearoid]

You can cut it back hard to about 10cm if you want, or leave it a bit higher if you want a taller plant (I have a white one at the back of a border I leave to grow to 2m). They flower on new wood so chopping back hard gives you a better display and keeps the shrub under control.