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I have this very large Hebe in my garden which has become very lop sided can it be pruned

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  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    Being pedantic, anything can be pruned, but some hebes recover better than others.  Some may not recover at all.  A few years ago I cut some of mine hard back because they had become straggly and woody.  One or two did show new growth, but not enough to make the plants worth saving.  If it's too big for the location and can't be relocated, give it a try as you really have nothing to lose.
  • hogweedhogweed Posts: 4,053
    I have a large hebe in my garden as well. I am going to cut it hard back this winter but as @KT53 says, some recover, some don't. If it doesn't then I will dig it out. ANother planting opportunity!
    'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
  • pr1mr0sepr1mr0se Posts: 1,193
    If you like it, you could take cuttings (they usually root well) and then you have a back-up if pruning proves to result in the demise of your plant.
  • susabarnsusabarn Posts: 3
    Thank you for your advice, I’ve never taken a cutting from a Hebe any tips please 
  • InglezinhoInglezinho Posts: 568
    Tips on cuttings from Hebe. Best time spring. At other seasons you will need to strip off not only the lower leaves, but also any flower buds that are forming. Length: fairly short, 3 - 5 inches. Time to root: fairly slow. Temperature: cool but not cold. Anything else:  I place the cuttings in small soaked clay pellets or coarse sand or a mixture, depending on how thick the stem is. Cover with a mini greenhouse. I use upside-down transparent plastic containers. Plastic bags are too small and restrict air movement = rot. Good luck. Ian.
    Everyone likes butterflies. Nobody likes caterpillars.
  • Kitty 2Kitty 2 Posts: 5,150
    I may be wrong, apologies if I am, but is the shrub in the photo a hebe?  A first glance I thought it looked like a white buddleia. 

  • susabarnsusabarn Posts: 3
    Hi Kitty no it is definitely a Hebe but has lovely white cone flowers it’s been there for about 18yrs 
  • Kitty 2Kitty 2 Posts: 5,150
    Hi susabarn. I'd better get to specsavers 😄. 
    I have had success with rooting hebe cuttings. New spring growth has worked best for me. The first lot I did a few years ago, poked into small 7cm pots of seed and cutting compost.
    This year I had a few cuttings from a different variety which rooted very well in water. I'd only put them in my cutting vases for a bit, meaning to pot them properly later.... and forgot about them.
  • Bee witchedBee witched Posts: 1,295
    Hi @susabarn,

    If it was mine .... I'd be tempted to take 5 or six branches out very low down on the big side of the shrub. Do it after flowering. If that regenerates next spring with new growth at the cuts then do a bit more the following summer. Over time you will have a more even sized shrub.

    I'm doing this with a hebe pagei that's got too big for the space and is a bit bare and leggy in the middle.

    Bee x
    Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders  

    A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
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