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Old Mahonia

happyhackerhappyhacker Posts: 41
in Plants
Very old and overhangs pavement. Can I take out all the lower limbs and cut the upper ones short? This would leave little foliage though but I want to make it smaller. It's June now so OK to prune this time of year? many thanks.

Posts

  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    You can, but not in one go. Do it gradually over 3 years, one third each year.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I have one that I don't really want.
    I let it grow for a year, then let it flower, then cut it back as close to the ground as I can.
    It starts sprouting again within a couple of weeks.
    I hacked it back about 2 weeks ago

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    I grow Mahonia Charity, reduced it by about a third in April. It is spikey and difficult to deal with. A neighbour had a skip and it went in that which was a huge help. It looked an absolute mess until recently. It just sat and did nothing due to lack of rain.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • happyhackerhappyhacker Posts: 41
    Thanks all. They have an amazing scent. I want to expose the lower branches to create an architectural look.
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