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Advice on Pruning Mock Orange

SebUKSebUK Posts: 11
in Plants

Hello All, 

Have a Mock Orange shrub that's about 3ft wide and 10/12 foot high... understand that this is the right time to prune - flowers are just fading - looked online and advice suggests removing about 1/3 of the old growth.... I started to do this but am finding that its pretty much all old growth image 10ft of woody stem with a few pairs of leaves at the end... 

Have had a reasonable chop at it - being what I thought was quite conservative - but partner says it now looks silly (am in some agreement) and wants me to cut it all down to about 4/5 ft.... Just wondered if anyone had any advice... Am I likley to kill it by doing that? Will it re-sprout from the older growth? 

Posts

  • Lizzy_McCLizzy_McC Posts: 10

    I'd cut it down by half and thin out the stems at the centre, anything crossing etc like you are winter pruning a rose.  It will look really bare after you have cut it but not for long.

  • LORELEILORELEI Posts: 128
    I agree with Lizzy. New growth will soon cover up any bare branches, and by next year it will fill out and flower well. It is quite a hardy shrub and will tolerate being cut back, you should not kill it by a bit of hard pruning.
  • frensclanfrensclan Posts: 119
    1. I have had a mock orange in a pot for a couple of years waiting for a new garden to plant it in ( was moving!) I eventually planted it into our new garden last autumn and although it has put on a bit of growth ( is about 3' x 3' now it is a bit straggly and has not flowered. Any ideas why it is not flowering and should I cut it back a bit to get it to thicken up???
  • LORELEILORELEI Posts: 128
    Not sure why it has'nt flowered frensclan, could be it needs more time to settle in. You could cut it back a bit now but not too much. Hopefully next year you should get some flowers. Being in a pot for so long might have slowed it down a bit. I adore the smell of it, and it looks good too.
  • frensclanfrensclan Posts: 119

    Thanks for this Lorelel ?, I will give it a little trim when the weather clears up a bit and wait in hopeful ecpectation for next year. I agree with you it does have the most heavenly smell.

  • StaceyjStaceyj Posts: 62

    Didn't get around to pruning mine in July. Am I too late for this year? It's enormous, don't think it's ever been pruned properly and didn't flower very well at all.

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