Spiraea x vanhouttei

The builders ‘moved it’ and I now I fear it’s a gonner 😞

Cut it right back and water it in well. 🤞

Morning! Here’s our Spiraea, which after researching looks like a Vanhouttei. It’s growing arms and legs and getting a bit messy so will look into shaping it! #spiraea

Hi Tom! This is another shrub that responds well to pruning. I trim mine back lightly once the flowers have faded and I often get another flush. Then next spring, before I see signs of new growth, I cut them back really hard. This gives a better shape and lots of fresh new leaves and flowers. Yours looks lovely! 😀

Thanks. Define ‘really hard’? 😂 Are we talking 30cm from the ground hard? I think it’s that hard pruning which scares me the most!

Hi Tom. Don't forget to tag the person you are commenting to @jacaranda 👍

If you’re worried about pruning, WOB have the RHS bible of pruning for under £6. https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/christopher-brickell/rhs-pruning-training/9781405315265

Spiraeas are tough shrubs, Tom, so I prune mine to about 20-30 cms. Yours looks like a larger shrub than mine so maybe just reduce it by half to begin with. It will be trial and error until you get the hang of it!! 😂🤞

Thanks @awomanonabike , I’ve ordered the book! 🙌🏼

Thanks @jacaranda

Well done! I hope you find it useful. I acquired lots and lots of shrubs when I moved here and that book has helped them look natural even though most of them get pruned every year. #gtlibrary