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Help pruning daphne odora shrub

I am my grandparent gardener and after battling my way through a very invasive grape vine I came across a small shrub, which turned out to be a daphne odora. Due to being overcrowded and covered it has become very leggy and is in some desperate need of reshaping. However after some research I'm now worried to do anything as not to kill or damage the plant. Any help/advice is welcome image

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  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445

    I'd leave it alone. Let it see the light of day for a while and what it looks like next year. Daphne's have a reputation for not liking pruning. Might not be justified but they don't look like something that would prune well.



    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • I have one which has naturally bushed out but the other still has only a single stem after 3 years so I nipped out the soft growing tip last autumn to try and encourage side shoots to form.  I know it doesn't help much but, given their reputation, it was as much as I dared risk and I doubt that sort of 'pruning' would cause any harm and might well do the trick. 

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
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