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Cutting back Bowles Mauve Erysimum

linzijayne74linzijayne74 Posts: 198
in Tools and techniques
Hi.  My Bowles Mauve has grown really well this year (in fact, a little *too* well but I mustn't grumble!).  Some of the stems are woody all the way back to the base: I'd just like to check that it's ok to cut all the way to the base, please?  I'd like it to come back next year!  Thank you.  :)
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  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    edited September 2019
    I will be honest and say l don't know the answer ! 
    I have found with Bowles Mauve that it tends to flower itself to a standstill and all the flowers end up at the tips. The theory is that you prune it lightly after flowering,  but the ones l have had never stopped flowering,  which made things a bit difficult. 
    I used to take cuttings and when the old plant looked a right mess, l would get rid of it and replace with the younger plant.
    Hopefully someone will have cut it back hard and can advise you if it worked .
     ( l'd like to know as well  :) )
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I just leave them to do their flowering, take cuttings then treat the plant as annuals and pull them out. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • AuntyRachAuntyRach Posts: 5,291
    I usually only cut back to green growth, and I find I have a few years from one plant before they become too leggy. Apparently you can hard prune, but cuttings are advised as insurance. 
    My garden and I live in South Wales. 
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    They grow very quickly. I planted some small cuttings this year and they grew quite big. I can see the point of treating them as annuals but i think I'll let them do just one more year. If they grow at rhe same rate, they'll be too big after that.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • linzijayne74linzijayne74 Posts: 198
    Hi @AnniD; thanks for your comment.  This is their second year and for the life of me I can't remember how I treated them last year!  They've flowered really well and formed a much larger clump than I anticipated!  However, the bees and other insects have liked them so that's all that matters.  Not all of the stems are woody; I think what I'll do is cut back the woody ones and gently prune the green stems.  :)
  • linzijayne74linzijayne74 Posts: 198
    Hi @Biker; thanks for getting back to me.  I think you're right; I'll cut the woody parts back to the base (some of them are woody to the base) and leave the rest of the stems that are green.  Thank you.  :)
  • linzijayne74linzijayne74 Posts: 198
    Hi @Lyn; thank you for your reply.  My Bowles are in their second year; I think I'll trim back what's woody and hopefully what's green will come back next year.  Thank you.  :)
  • linzijayne74linzijayne74 Posts: 198
    Hi @AuntyRach; thank you for your comment.  I'll do as you do and trim back to green growth.  Thank you.  :)
  • linzijayne74linzijayne74 Posts: 198
    Hi @B3; thank you for your response.  I know, I had no idea my Bowles would form such a big clump!  They've done very well though, on the whole.  I believe they get woody after a while so I'll keep what's green and trim back what's woody.  Thank you.  :)
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I've grown Bowles Mauve for ages. Sometimes they regrow after a hard cut back, sometimes they die. I try to always have a few young plants from cuttings, to replace the old ones.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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