Severe rhodie pruning?

Discussion in 'Trees, Shrubs and Roses' started by Primsong, Aug 23, 2008.

  1. Primsong

    Primsong Young Pine

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    I was rather horrified to hear that our board of trustees at our church had been advised by the 'insurance guys' that it would be a good thing to remove all the shrubs along the front of the church 'so no one can hide behind them.' :eek:

    These are about a dozen older rhodies, each kept about 7 ft. tall and trimmed up at the bottom. As one of the main 'keeper of the grounds' people, I've been given the task of trying to convince them it would be okay to keep them. The building would look like a sterile brick box without them, really.

    I am quite unhappy with it, as the windows they are near are all very narrow and way off the ground - if someone wanted to break in through a window there's plenty of others that would suit them better.

    I may have to settle for convincing them that they can be pruned back to a lower height - any idea how badly these poor bushes may be cut back and survive? If we whack three or four feet off (cutting them in half, height-wise) will they live? Has anyone had to do this? Has anyone considered tying themselves to a bush to save it from the axe?

    *goes off muttering about insurance guys...*
     
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  3. Droopy

    Droopy Slug Slaughterer Plants Contributor

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    :D Sorry, I pictured lots of parishioners chained to the old Rhododendrons. :D

    I had to severely prune three big, old R. catawbiense when we moved in here. I did it in summer after they had bloomed. My mother told me I would kill them, but I didn't. Dumb luck she called it then.

    I cut long branches off near the old trunk, but left a few short ones. Then I chopped the top off at the wanted height and pruned away some more long branches. When I was done, they looked like very bare, thin tree trunks with a few short, green leaf rosettes here and there, and they were about 1/5 as big as they were when I started to cut. They started sprouting new leaves and short branches after about a month, and when winter came they didn't look as bare anymore. They bloomed again after two years, and we've pruned by cutting flowers for indoors since then.

    I'm not certain when the right time to do this might be, and I can't guarantee that the rhodos will live, but it's worth trying to save them.

    Other than that, have you considered removing every other bush to make the grounds more open?
     
  4. Primsong

    Primsong Young Pine

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    Thank you so much for the reply - you give me hope. I'm going to go hunker under the bushes a bit this week and take a look a the trunk structure, then plead for a delay until after blooming in spring - something I'm sure I'll get, they're good men, not curmudgeons...they just don't know plants and do know insurance payments.

    Yours filled in again that fast? I was afraid they'd be barren sticks for a couple years - it's okay to lose the blossoms a bit, but to have no leaves looks really, really bad, especially with it being along the front where it's the most visible.

    Hm...
     
  5. Droopy

    Droopy Slug Slaughterer Plants Contributor

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    Just remember to leave some leaves, as many as you can without it looking weird, because the plant needs them in order to survive and produce new growth.

    They will look like sticks for a couple of years, but if they're old enough the stems in themselves will be pretty. Sort of minimalistic-inspired. Good luck!
     
  6. dvmcmrhp52

    dvmcmrhp52 New Seed

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    Trimming after bloom is a must, and then trim selectively, and in stages if possible. It can be done without killing an older specimen, but having at it with a hedge trimmer probably won't work in your favor very well. As has been mentioned, don't cut all the leaves off at once, leave some for nutrient production.

    My guess is the concern from the insurance co. is not the climbing in the window aspect so much as creeps hiding behind or amongst them after dark.
     

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