To Cut Or Not To Cut?

[GoDawgs]

Spring is moving right along. The Grancy Graybeard or Grandaddy Graybeard, as some like to call it (Chionanthus virginicus) is now in full bloom with its cluster of fringy blooms.

24.04.05 Parts of Grancy Graybeard dying.JPG

Over the past few years it has been getting more and more scraggly over the years. By nature this tree has rather curling branches making pruning a strange exercise. "What will it look like if I cut this one off?" And now about half of the branches are dead. I'm thinking about drastic rejuvenation.


This tree produces a ton of whips at the base and I am thinking about just cutting the tree itself down after it finishes blooming and leaving the whips to become a managable (I think) shrub. It already looks like a shrub at the base. Maybe it's trying to tell me something.

24.04.05 Grancy Graybeard before rejuvenation.JPG

So.... to cut or not to cut? That is the question. I think I will as soon as it finishes blooming. It's gotten so ugly that something has to be done. Any input from the peanut gallery?

[ddsack]

Go ahead and cut! You have lots of nice new growth ready to take over. And do it before you change your mind and decide to give the old wood one more year of blossoms! I made that mistake on our old lilac bushes.

[rdback]

Whack!

[worth1]

I thought this was about circumcision.

[MissS]

@worth1 It's a gardening forum....

[CrazyAboutOrchids]

If it was my plant, yes, I would trim back all those tall, leggy pieces. I think you'll be left with the smaller shrub you see there and will look much nicer. A treat for the plant as well, it most likely will reward you with bottom growth, at the very least you should have a great bloom next spring. Just be sure to cut those long canes all the way down, don't trim them down to your bush height - remove the whole cane.

I'm not easy on my plants - they reward me with awesome growth and blooms. My husband prefers I do my trim work while he is away from the house. He always likes the end result but gets freaked out when he sees all I am removing. Plants always reward me.

[MissS]

I agree with @CrazyAboutOrchids. I would do a rejuvenate pruning and cut the tall limbs to the ground. This will encourage new bushy growth from the bottom.

Most of my shrubs are 20+ years old and I have been removing 1/3 of all of the thick old limbs each year. The back shrubs are all done and they look great now. I started on the front last year and they are already filling in nicely.

[pepperhead212]

I thought this was about circumcision.

And I thought it was something bean related.

[PlainJane]

Cut!

[GoDawgs]

Thanks for the insights! It confirms my thoughts. I usually butcher a loropetalum that grows fast and soon covers a set of windows on the front of the house because I put off regular trimming. One of those "I need to do that one of these days" things. And that thing always comes back with a vengeance. When old Grandaddy gets done blooming, he will succumb to the chain saw.