I have 3 Weigela bushes and they are doing very well but they are so large they are crowding out my knockout roses. Can the Weigela bush be shaped and/or trimmed?
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Weigela bush
Submitted by mhillman on July 24, 2008 - 12:34pm.
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Sure you can trim them, but the best time is after blooming. Some cultivars will rebloom if you cut them back. I've also found that routine trimming, (once or twice a season) gives them a nicer andmore compact growing habit. I love love love Weigelas!
Hedge trimmers can destroy the looks and shape a shrub in nothing flat! The new growth comes from the just below the cuts. Since all cuts are at the same level you create "witches broom' effect which leaves the base of the shrub all stemmy and leggy and growth all coming from the same point.
Hand, selective pruning is the only way to go unless you are trimming a formal hedge.
This gets me on my soap box that meatballs, boxes and mushroom shape shrubs do not belong in the landscape!
Dennis - Johnson County Extension
Dennis, I have some boxwoods in my garden that I was hoping to trim into formal, squared-off hedges. Now you have scared me! Is this always a bad thing to do because they'll grow leggy? What about the english gardens I have seen in books, with lots of dense boxwood balls and hedges?
You could, but in my opinion, I don't think plants get much benefit from being shaped into tight balls. All the new growth will come from the top, and the center of the shrub will thin out. You could keep a loosely rounded shape by going in with a pruner and cutting back every third stem by about one third -- or more. This will stimulate new growth throughout the plant while still maintaining a tidy appearance. Pruning will take a bit longer than using a hedge trimmer, but again -- my opinion - I think the plant will appreciate it.
Weigela is a great shrub but they can get out of hand. The best time to prune is early spring or just after the first flush of blooms. You can either be pretty hard and cut them back to the ground and allow all new growth or selectively remove the older branches every year. A few cuts here and there during the season will help also.
Don't just top the shrub at a given height as it will look bad. Instead be more selective in your pruning. This plant is a fast grower and responds well to pruning.
Dennis - Johnson County Extension