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A straggly hebe: what to do?

Skylark001Skylark001 Posts: 75
edited April 2023 in Problem solving
There will hopefully not be another frost this year, so the time has come for action on this straggly old purple hebe, stretching out desperately towards the south, 300 metres above sea-level. 

How much shall I dare remove?  I'd like to cut it 10 cms above the ground, but you know what I fear!


Posts

  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    I'd risk it, it's not a thing of beauty as it is


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    I don't think you will ever get that looking good again, I would remove it.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • Bee witchedBee witched Posts: 1,295
    So would I.

    Hard to tell from the photo, but if any of the top part is Ok you could try doing some cuttings.

    Bee x
    Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders  

    A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I’d remove it,  in fact we did removed a few last year, not because of weather but because they’d grown straggly after so many years,  we tried to cut them back a bit, they don’t recover well. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Skylark001Skylark001 Posts: 75
    Thanks, everyone.  I'll cut, and will be prepared for the worst.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Kill or cure time! If it doesn't regrow well, it's an opportunity for something new in it's place.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Slow-wormSlow-worm Posts: 1,630
    @Skylark001 what's that black/purple plant underneath?
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