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Overgrown viburnum tinus

Poly-anthusPoly-anthus Posts: 154
in Problem solving
Huuuge shrub, growing into and  forcing the gorgeous hydrange next to it to grow sideways in the opposite direction.  I had a man come to cut it down with a hedge trimmer, which has made it look better, but I feel it could do with a bit more off it.  It's now manageable for me to do it myself, but can I cut into quite thick old wood.  Will it sprout nice new shoots in Spring, or will I just make things worse?  Thanks for any advice.

Posts

  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    You can do that, but I would wait till next year in spring to do that. Always risky to hard prune evergreen shrubs going into winter.
  • Poly-anthusPoly-anthus Posts: 154
    OK.  Thanks Borderline.  I'll leave it till Spring then.  Hopefully next season, the hydrange will get a chance to stand up a bit straighter!
  • batwood14batwood14 Posts: 193
    Its still warm enough to hack back - I do mine throughout winter as I find it easier and often I don't have time in spring. It has never affected any of my plants.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,729
    I leave mine until Spring as the flowers are useful to early insects when very little is in flower. Post flowering you can cut back as hard as you like.
    Devon.
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