Snuggersmom
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Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2011 6:43 pm
Location: Long Island

Fall Pruning

Hi everyone. I hope you can help me out here. I live in Zone 7 (Long Island, New York) and have a lot of huge forsythia bushes in my backyard that haven't been seriously pruned in a couple of years but they do flower beautifully.

They're starting to look a little overwhelmed; weak growth on the ends of some branches, no growth inside, etc. They're about 7 feet high. Is it too late for me to prune them now? I'd like to take out some of the main branches and trim them down for the winter, maybe about a foot or so. Nothing too drastic.

Will this result in little or no flowers in April? Should I wait until late winter?

I also have Montauk daisies that are flowering now but a real mess; they're so tall they've fallen to the ground. Can I prune them down after the flowers die off?

I can't find any advice on these two issues on-line. Thanks for whatever help you can give me.


Debbie

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rainbowgardener
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Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

Yes, definitely too late to prune the forsythia if you want it to bloom in the spring. You have to wait until AFTER it blooms. Prune it as soon as you can after all the blossoms are done.

Your Montauk daisy is a fall bloomer, so you would cut it back in the spring after it starts growing. You will be cutting off growing stems/leaves. But if you notice plenty of new buds around the base of the plant, they will come back stronger than ever and with less floppiness.

It is in the mum family. The tradition used to be cut mums back at memorial day and the Fourth of July and then leave them alone after that. But my mums I cut down to the ground in December ish, once they are completely dead and dormant.

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rainbowgardener
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Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

PS a little more clarification. When I said cut it back in the spring, about memorial day is what I meant, mid spring not early spring. And cutting back at memorial day and fourth of July is NOT cutting it down to the ground. It's just basically cutting the growing tips off, so that it branches out at that spot, to produce more flowers (and also slows it down a bit from getting so tall and floppy). The first time you could cut it down about half way if you really want it not to get so tall, just be sure you cut above a leaf node. The second time, I would cut less, just the tips. Then cut all the dead stuff off once it is dormant.



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