I have several large hebes.They are just bare branches in the centre with foliage on the outside.I don't want to remove them but I would like to reduce them in size!Pruning them will remove all their foliage.Will this kill them!Or am I better off to prune half the bush this year and complete the pruning next year, thus giving them a good chance to rejuvenate!
ro42,
Apr 22, 6:28pm
A friend of mine had some huge hebes which she wanted to get rid of. She cut them right back to short bare branches, intending to go back and dig them out. They sprouted lots of new growth - and that was during the drought!
goatchickens,
Apr 22, 7:57pm
Whack them right back to the height/shape you'd like and they should fill back out again.We've done that several times with a few that had taken to growing unevenly due to getting munched by goats, and they look great now.
I've got a couple that were big and straggly that we cut right back and they have nice thick growth now.
elliehen,
Apr 23, 11:59am
Hebes seem to be indestructible.I let several bushes get too leggy and cut them back brutally, but they all filled right out again.
aloha3,
Apr 24, 6:47am
Do forget to put the tips in the garden and grow some more
trogedon,
Apr 24, 8:21am
I've got friends who's daughter is called Hebe. I doubt she'd like to be 'pruned'.
wilt,
May 19, 8:00am
We cut ours right back, almost to the ground. They loved it and grew back nice and bushy. Wish I'd known we could use the tips.
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