I have an Apple Blossom too. It's about 3 foot high. The internal part of it and the arching branches were all brown and dried. I can however see some very tiny leaves sprouting. I have cut back the dead branches. Now that I read that its okay to prune it, I will give this a go over the next 3 weeks. However mine looks spars and leggy also, a bit sad. The hedge is about 30 feet long. To tell you the truth it is painful using the secateurs to do all the pruning.
Been reading this thread with interest. I'm also in the Highlands of Scotland and have been out today having a look at my escallonia (not a hedge - just a shrub) It's quite tall, maybe 5 or 6 feet in bits, but very bare in the middle - lots of thick branches with just twiggy shoots at the ends, which have flowered. I'm wondering whether I can cut back some of the really thick wood to get new shoots from the bottom, or would that make things worse? It would certainly create a lot of holes in the middle, but would be worth it if it would look better by next year. Thanks for any advice.
OK thanks Verdun. I think as we're having a rare warm spell just now, (famous last words, lol) I'll maybe compromise and cut back one thick branch now and leave the rest till Spring.
Mine never really made a come back this year. Probably a lack of attention (water) and light. It did start off sprouting well only to get shaded out by some self sown honesty, that was too pretty to move. I'm now considering a relocation.
I cut two large and very sick straggly escallonia shrubs right down to the ground last year, the few remaining leaves were turning yellow with dark spots before falling off and they hadn't flowered for years. I didn't have the strength to dig out the roots so just dug and composted ground around them ready for replanting. I am glad I left roots as we now have two very healthy looking shrubs and hopefully they will flower next year. We also have a twenty year old escallonia hedge in our front garden with dark pink flowers that was looking diseased. I cut out all of the deadwood and we now have lots of vigorous healthy looking growth sprouting inside the hedge.
I've been reading this thread with interest. I took Verdun's advice last August and, with finger firmly crossed, went a bit mad on mine last year. I cut off all the spindly twiggy bits, leaving it a bit naked in the middle I must admit, and also cut back into old thick wood. Can't make it any worse looking than it already is I thought .
This year it's looking much better. The old wood has sprouted nice new shoots (no flowers, but I'm not complaining) so I think after it's finishing flowering this year, I'll bite the bullet and chop another few thick branches down and hopefully they'll also sprout new shoots further down and the new shoots this year might flower next year . Thanks Verdun .
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I planted one specimen, and it got all leggy, because it was partially shaded. So I've hacked it back drastically, to about three inches all over.
I have an Apple Blossom too. It's about 3 foot high. The internal part of it and the arching branches were all brown and dried. I can however see some very tiny leaves sprouting. I have cut back the dead branches. Now that I read that its okay to prune it, I will give this a go over the next 3 weeks. However mine looks spars and leggy also, a bit sad. The hedge is about 30 feet long. To tell you the truth it is painful using the secateurs to do all the pruning.
Thank you Verdun ?
Been reading this thread with interest. I'm also in the Highlands of Scotland and have been out today having a look at my escallonia (not a hedge - just a shrub) It's quite tall, maybe 5 or 6 feet in bits, but very bare in the middle - lots of thick branches with just twiggy shoots at the ends, which have flowered. I'm wondering whether I can cut back some of the really thick wood to get new shoots from the bottom, or would that make things worse? It would certainly create a lot of holes in the middle, but would be worth it if it would look better by next year. Thanks for any advice.
OK thanks Verdun. I think as we're having a rare warm spell just now, (famous last words, lol) I'll maybe compromise and cut back one thick branch now and leave the rest till Spring.
Mine never really made a come back this year. Probably a lack of attention (water) and light. It did start off sprouting well only to get shaded out by some self sown honesty, that was too pretty to move. I'm now considering a relocation.
Last edited: 23 August 2016 09:08:34
I cut two large and very sick straggly escallonia shrubs right down to the ground last year, the few remaining leaves were turning yellow with dark spots before falling off and they hadn't flowered for years. I didn't have the strength to dig out the roots so just dug and composted ground around them ready for replanting. I am glad I left roots as we now have two very healthy looking shrubs and hopefully they will flower next year. We also have a twenty year old escallonia hedge in our front garden with dark pink flowers that was looking diseased. I cut out all of the deadwood and we now have lots of vigorous healthy looking growth sprouting inside the hedge.
I've been reading this thread with interest. I took Verdun's advice last August and, with finger firmly crossed, went a bit mad on mine last year. I cut off all the spindly twiggy bits, leaving it a bit naked in the middle I must admit, and also cut back into old thick wood. Can't make it any worse looking than it already is I thought
.
This year it's looking much better. The old wood has sprouted nice new shoots (no flowers, but I'm not complaining) so I think after it's finishing flowering this year, I'll bite the bullet and chop another few thick branches down and hopefully they'll also sprout new shoots further down and the new shoots this year might flower next year
. Thanks Verdun 
.