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poorly flowering viburnum

berardeberarde Posts: 147
in Problem solving
It may be a bit over, but it hasn't got a best and in terms of flower this is as good as it gets. I have had it 30 years, but not having time to garden much before and it is leafy I've never done anything about it. Ever hoping it will do better for some heady January scent.After flowering I cut the branches back by a third and cut some old stems to the ground and some new shoots come. It has usually had some compost mulch in Autumn. It gets morning sun. 
perennials grow well for me, but some shrubs are ever disappointing.

Posts

  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    all the growth looks rather young and maybe not mature enough to flower. It's a potentially huge shrub and maybe not room to let it get big enough there


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    If you're cutting off a third on every branch, I think that's the problem.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I have Vib. Bod. 'Charles Lamont' .... it's about 8 or 9 years since I planted it and has never needed pruning ... for the first few years it only produced a few flowers, but has been increasing year on year ... this year it is just covered with blooms ...

    I agree with @nutcutlet and @fairygirl .... the wood is too immature to  produce many blooms.  

    Viburnum Bodnatense is not a shrub that can be kept short successfully ... mine is a good 6ft tall.  

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    Agree, the best way to prune these for maximum flower display is just by removing very old (6yr+) stems right down to the ground occasionally.  If my V. bodnantense 'Dawn' is anything to go by, the best flowering wood seems to be 3-5 years old.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
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