QA

Quick Answer: When To Trim Spirea Bushes

In early spring, before the leaf buds start to swell, cut all of the stems down so they’re 4 to 6 in. tall. You can use pruning shears and cut one at a time or hedge clippers and simply cut them all off at once — it makes no difference.

Can I cut my spirea to the ground?

The spirea species (Spiraea spp.) To control the spirea’s size and keep it blooming year after year, you should prune it back after blooming or when it’s dormant in winter. If it’s severely overgrown, cut it to the ground to rejuvenate the shrub.

How do you prune overgrown spirea?

In the spring, after the first blooms are spent, cut the dead flowers back by trimming spirea’s stem tips back to the topmost leaf on each stem. Throughout the summer, the plants shape can be maintained by cutting back overgrown spirea shoots or stems as well as any dead or diseased branches.

Should spirea bushes be cut back in the fall?

More drastically cutting back spirea should occur in the fall or in late winter to early spring. Remove any dead branches and use this trimming to shape the shrub. Cutting it way back will stimulate new growth in tighter clusters so that you can get a more rounded, compact shrub shape.

Does spirea bloom on old wood?

Spring-bloom spirea produce buds the year before they bloom, which means they blossom on old growth. These buds begin to set the autumn before they open. Meanwhile, summer-blooming types blossom on new growth, since they develop buds in the spring just a season before they open.

How do you control spirea?

Stems need to be cut back at least once each growing season prior to seed production as close to the ground as possible. Another method of spirea control is the use of foliar herbicides. This should only be considered where the risk to other plants is minimal and when there are large, dense stands of spirea.

Can barberry bushes be cut back?

If you are keeping your barberry shrubs as a hedge, it is necessary to prune them a couple of times a year. Pruning barberry plants increase shrub health and vigor. Prune for shape during the winter or fall after the plant has fruited. Remove dead wood during the summer and winter months.

Should you deadhead spirea?

Pink flowering spirea should also be deadheaded. You can cut off old flowers using a pruners, hedge shears or an electric shearing tool. In the perennial garden deadhead any plant that flowered before June 30th including: salvia, baptisia, nepeta, peonies, coral bells, oxeye daisies, bleeding heart and penstemon.

What type of spirea do I have?

If your plant features pink flowers clusters that grow on branch ends and ranges from 4 to 6 feet high, it may be a Japanese spirea (Spiraea japonica). Low-growing spirea, plants that reach heights of only 2 or 3 feet, with pink or white flowers, may be bumalda spireas (Spiraea x bumalda).

How do you prune a spirea japonica?

How to cut back spring-flowering spiraea. Prune immediately after flowering, as next year’s flowers will be borne on shoots produced in summer. Cut back the flowered shoots to strong new growth below, pruning to a pair of buds.

When Should Rose of Sharon be pruned?

Because rose of Sharon blooms on the current season’s growth it should be pruned in late winter. Next winter, remove any new growth from the previous year and an additional third from the existing old growth.

How do you prune an overgrown bridal wreath spirea?

Here’s how it works: Remove dead, spindly or diseased branches. Study the shrub. Using bypass loppers or a small pruning saw, cut each branch as close to the ground or base of the plant as possible. Repeat this process for the next two years.

How do you prune spirea goldflame?

Compact and easy to grow, it makes an excellent informal, low hedge or groundcover plant for a sunny well-drained border. Garden care: Deadhead after flowering. In early spring, hard prune the flowered stems to a permanent framework 10-15cm above the ground.

How do you divide spirea?

The best way is to locate a section of the plant on the outer edge that consists of young, vigorous shoots. Dig around the outside of this section to expose the root ball, and use a flat spade to divide the roots from the rest of the plant. Lift it out and away from the larger plant to complete the division.

How do you fertilize spirea?

Spireas are not heavy feeders, so, after they have been in place for a season, start to fertilize them once every year in the fall after their leaves fall or early spring, which is better in the South. Sprinkle some all-purpose slow-acting granular fertilizer on the soil over their roots for the rain to soak in.

Why are my spirea not blooming?

The flower buds on bridal wreath spirea are formed during the previous year and could have been damaged by an unusually harsh winter. Also if the shrub is pruned at the wrong time (too late in the summer or in the fall) then the flower buds will be removed and the shrub will not bloom the next year.

Can I prune spirea in January?

Avoid pruning in winter, as it may lead to frost damage of new shoots.

How big does spirea get?

Plant sizes vary by species and cultivar, and they range from 1½ to 8 feet tall. There are many species of spireas (greater than 80), but only the most commonly encountered species and cultivars are included here.