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Pruning a ceanothus

ERICS MUMERICS MUM Posts: 625
in Plants

i have an evergreen variegated-leaf ceanothus ('Zanzibar' I think but the label has gone).

its really untidy and looks unsightly and I'd like to hard prune it.  Other websites warn against it, so I thought I'd ask if anyone has actually done this and was it a success or failure ?

I'm not bothered about losing flowers this year, but I don't really want to kill it !

thanks

Posts

  • brendapennellsbrendapennells Posts: 2
    I have an evergreen ceanothus can I prune it hard,and when
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 9,562

    The RHS website says evergreen ceanothus are best not pruned and don't respond well to hard renovation pruning. https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=354

    You could try anyway if it's got too big for the space it's in, but be prepared to lose it.

    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • FirecrackerFirecracker Posts: 256
    I cut our evergreen ceanothus back early in the year, it was 7 feet tall and had lots of dead brown leaves. This summer it came back very well with no problem. 
  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
    This is interesting to me as we have a small ceanothus in it's first year (no flowers yet) which I am thinking of pruning this autumn/winter.  I was only planning on giving it a small trim and to take some stem cuttings too.
  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
    I thought that too Lantana, but the twig of a cutting that I planted in the Spring has grown to over a foot tall and perhaps 18 inches wide - very leggy, thin and spindly, I would like the plant to thicken up ..... I will give your advice some serious consideration.
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