Help with pruning Choisya Sundance

1945crewood

After spending an age on the internet and finding so many different answers can I ask for advice on pruning Choisya Sundance please?

When is the best time, how hard should I prune back? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

KeenOnGreen

Best time to prune is after flowering in the Spring.  They are quite forgiving if you prune them at any time during the Summer, however I would avoid pruning them when it's baking hot, and you should try to complete any pruning before there is any risk of hard frosts.

They can be pruned back hard to the ground every year.  We prune ours to shape, usually twice a year.  First time is after flowering in Spring, and then in late Autumn.  We like to keep ours to about 1 metre height and width, they can get a lot larger if that's what you prefer.  Hope that helps.

1945crewood

Brilliant, thanks for the help.

When you mention 'late Autumn' for our second pruning to shape, is that about now, or am I to late?

Fairygirl

I wouldn't prune them at this time of year unless you're in a mild area. Even in a fairly benign winter, they can suffer badly here. The top growth gives protection. 

1945crewood

Fairygirl said:

I wouldn't prune them at this time of year unless you're in a mild area. Even in a fairly benign winter, they can suffer badly here. The top growth gives protection. 

Thanks for all the help. Really appreciated.

shane.farrell

I tend to leave mine in the winter but other than that it recovers quickly during the growing season. It's a great plant. I usually do a hardish trim in spring and then a light trim just at the end of summer. To me the flowers whilst nice, are rather secondary.

1945crewood

Thank you for the reply Shane, really appreciate the help.