| Ihave shasta daisy shrubs that are getting too large. How much and when can I prune them? I also have hydrangeas with the same problem. When,how and how much can I prune them? |
| Shasta daisies are perennial plants that die back to the ground each winter, as which point they are trimmed off nearly to the ground. Mature plants, depending on the specific variety you are growing, can be quite large. Pruning is really not an effective way to control their overall size. To try to limit their size you can trim them back quite hard in mid summer after the early season bloom flush. This will help encourage another heavy bloom flush later in the season as well. The other option is to divide them each year, in early spring. Or, you could plant a smaller growing cultivar. Hydrangeas also vary in size depending on cultivar, some varieties are naturally smaller than others. Pruning for size is somewhat difficult as they regrow quickly. However, you can thin the plant and remove the longest stems or branches each year, do this in summer right after they bloom. Pruning at other times of year will limit flowering because they bloom on old wood that grew the previous year. The other option would be to plant smaller growing cultivars. I hope this helps. |
