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Ceaonothus too heavy for itself

dangermousiedangermousie Posts: 356
in Problem solving
Happy Sunday! My ceaonothus was pruned before flowering last year and proceeded to explode in growth. It's so heavy now that it's leaning. I'd like to trim it and straighten it, but I'm not sure where to make the cut. RHS says how to prune it in it's early years, but this is much older than 3. 
GW says replace it when it gets too big, but I won't be doing that :)


A bonus pic of it in flower...
2022


2023


Posts

  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    You should not prune into old wood. Maybe you could stake 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
  • dangermousiedangermousie Posts: 356
    Yep, that's phase 2. At the moment it weighs a tonne and I can't budge it
  • bcpathomebcpathome Posts: 1,313
    When ours got like that ,we waited till the flowers had finished and lopped off some of the * branches* up to the main stem ,not pruning exactly ,more thinning out . Don’t know if it’s recommended but it worked for us ,maybe we were lucky . Not suggesting that you do the same unless you want to try , just telling you what we did.
  • dangermousiedangermousie Posts: 356
    Ooh that could work, thanks. Would you mind sharing a pic?
  • AuntyRachAuntyRach Posts: 5,291
    I have one about the same size as yours but taller. Because we inherited it and it hadn’t been pruned much, and then neither did we at first - it’s now a bit leggy. I trim mine after flowering and have heavily pruned off a few branches over the years - which allowed growth elsewhere and sometimes even from the old wood. If you prune heavy branches back to where it’s green and growing, it should be ok.  



    This branch is about a foot long so the front part (along arrow) could be cut off, as the stem is green, up to a maximum of where the branch goes more brown (circled). 

    I hope you can have success. 
    My garden and I live in South Wales. 
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    I chopped mine back when it became a nuisance overhanging the terrace - it didn't seem to mind.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • dangermousiedangermousie Posts: 356
    Thanks all!
  • bcpathomebcpathome Posts: 1,313
    I can’t send a picture, I use an iPad and also I’m not very good with my hands since my heart attack .sorry@ dangermousie .
  • dangermousiedangermousie Posts: 356
    Aw sorry to hear it. Get well soon!
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    Just prune it to shape.  Plus a bit more to allow for a season's growth.   It doesn't seem to mind being cut into old wood (in my experience).
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
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