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Hebe Amy
penelope19
Posts: 27
in Talkback
Hi New to the forum so bear with me!
I have a hebe amy which is about 4 to 5 foot high. It is just bare thick branches till about 3 feet high then seems to have healthy looking purple and green leaves above this. However it doesn't look nice with the bare branches and I don't know if I should prune it; even if I did then that would leave the bare bottom half? Confused! Any advice please?
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Personally I'd look at replacing it penelope. Hebe are fairly easy from cuttings and will grow rapidly in the right conditions. Some hebe's will take a drastic prune, but I'm not sure with Amy. Take some 4 inch cuttings from no flowering shoots and pop them into gritty compost water well and set to one side in a warm but shady area. They'll root in a few weeks and when growing well pot them on into large pots. By next year they'll be big enough to plant out and grow on. Nothing worse than a leggy Hebe.
I'd agree with Dave, Penelope. I grew this hebe in a previous garden and they're not as tough as some others so best to take a few cuttings or just get a new plant. I'm in Scotland though - so it may be tougher in other areas.
You could always prune it over a few months - bit at a time - once you've taken the cuttings and see if it revives too.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thanks guys...I think it might be best to do as you suggest, and on the good side, if I take a few cuttings I could end up with extra hebe amys!! I too live in scotland fairygirl and as I live in the countryside and also only 2 miles from the shore it can be very windy, so maybe that doesn't help with some plants and shrubs.