Pruning Unknown Shrub
quarkrad
Posts: 23
I have a lovely mature shrub in my garden that I have been told is called Lamb's Tongue - although I think it might be called Lamb's Ear. My question is how to prune it. There are think mature branches and I fear if I cut the shrub right down (how far down?) it will kill it. Any advice on how to prune this will be most appreciated.
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phlomis fruiticosa.
Jerusalem sage.
You can cut it back hard, but wear gloves and a face mask. It's covered in tiny hairs which irritate the throat.
Do it now and it'll flower later in the season.
Thank you for you reply. I am a novice at this - what do you mean by hard? That is how far? Would I cut off all existing growth and just leave the main trunks or do I leave some growth/flowers on?
As a general rule of thumb re- pruning shrubs. If you can see new shoots coming from old wood near the base, it's a pretty safe bet you can cut hard and it'll sprout back, but, if the old stem is bare, eg Rhododendrons, don't prune hard.
Looking at the top photo, I'd say take the height down by about half and a bit more off the width. It's your garden, the choice is yours.
Do please remember the face mask, I don't normally even garden in gloves, but I was really poorly once after pruning / clearing up one of those.
This will take a real massacre. and looks better for it eventually.
In the sticks near Peterborough