Too late to prune back a Kerria Japonica?
BenDover
Posts: 480
Have a Kerria Japonica which has grown to about 8 feet tall and gone rather floppy, especially when it rains. Canes are relatively thick but I think its just the height that is weighing it down. I would have cut it back after flowering, but it got left (you know how it is), so that probably explains why its gone so leggy. Am I still in time to cut back now, to say about 1/2 or even 2/3s of height or am I best waiting until after flowering next Spring? I can probably tie it back to fence to stop it flopping over path and lawn for now.
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You'll lose next year's flower,that's all, so if it's bothering you, chop it to the floor. If you kill it you'll have established a world 'first'. Kerria is indestructible!
H-C
Thanks for that. And any idea why mine goes floppy? I've seen others which are bolt upright. Is it simply because its gone so tall or have I just got a poor specimen?
Probably a bit tall, that's all, and growing new shoots off older wood too high up the stems, so the weight of the new growth bears down the stem below it. Try removing a proportion of the older wood every year to promote new, stronger growth from low down. That should be self supporting then.
H-C