Philadelphus Bell Etoile pruning
peteS
Posts: 963
My philadelphus is starting to go over for the year and I believe it is now the perfect time to prune it. But unfortunately it is an unholy mess when it comes to shape (see photo). It's got branches growing parallel to the ground and other branches coming off those at 90 degrees as well as having a large gap in the middle. It's been in the ground for about 3 years so the branches are quite thick. Could someone advise on how hard I can prune it and still have flowers next year.
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Posts
Take out a third of the branches to the ground. Pick the thickest ones to prune out. Cut out any branches that rub against each other, it acts as an entry point for disease. Trim the others back to new growth. That will be about a third of the way back on a flowered branch. If you do that each year, you get a continual renewal of new wood from the base, and the flowers don't end up right at the top.
Sign of new growth in the spring multch it with farmhouse manure. Fidgets right they need a prune annually. I have four in a enclosed space.A warm evening they smell heavenly.