I ventured outside early this morning with the intention of … well … I actually had no real intention. It was -10 degrees with the wind chill (maybe a slight exaggeration) and I wanted to see how quickly my nose hairs would freeze. A fun little test of my intestinal fortitude.
Conclusion: It was cold and it hurt like hell.
I lasted about two minutes and then headed back inside. However, I had enough time to check out my Physocarpus ‘Diablo’ and started thinking about how I was going to prune it in the near future.
And that consumed me all day, all the way up until I started to write this post this evening.
I have considered pruning Ninebark ‘Diablo’ back hard to within a foot of the ground to get nice fresh and vivid foliage this spring. Of course, that would mean sacrificing any blooms and subsequent red seedheads.
I have considered cutting out only the dead wood and some of the older branches to the ground to keep the shrub’s somewhat upright shape. You can easily spot said older gray branches in the photo below:
OK hold on a minute. Let me take a step back and think this through a bit and provide you some background before I make any pruning decisions.
Here is how the Physocarpus (Ninebark) looked this past summer:
Already at its ideal size after only three years in the ground.
And how good do the dark colored leaves look against the other shrubs and perennials in front of it?
Nice, huh? I wish I could do nothing and it would stay exactly as it looked this spring/summer. But we all know this shrub grows like mad and precautions need to be taken to keep it in bounds.
Another factor in the pruning Ninebark decision is whether or not I care about retaining the blooms each season. Here they are. They look nice up close:
But I won’t lie, I think they leave a little to be desired from a distance. Quick conclusion = I can survive without them.
By the way, this deciduous shrub looks pretty fantastic in the fall:
And the bark is fantastic when exposed in the winter:
What was I getting at again? Oh yeah, “to prune or not to prune” or really “to severely prune or not to severely prune”. That, my friends, is the question.
… and you will have to wait for an answer for a few more weeks. Some more in depth analysis is required.
UPDATE: Here is the link to where I went with my pruning – Pruning ‘Diablo’
All things considered, it’s a wonderful garden shrub. I wish I could grow it here in southern California.
Well we can be fairly sure it will be prune, but will it be prune, or PRUNE!!!
My one wish is that “Pop” can see these photos……he would be so proud of you John!
Ahhh, the art of pruning . . . one of the necessary gardening challenges that is boring as well as frustrating. I have three LARGE overgrown winter honeysuckle bushes that require pruning. The thought of doing it requires more energy than the actual “doing.” Maybe I can use last year’s excuse . . .wait to long and not do it at all:-) Your garden is lovely.
It is a informative post , thanks for sharing
The above photo essay of a lush, maturing garden touched my heart because I recall when it was newly planted and sparse. What a great accomplishment!
I have taken some cuttings from non flowering Ninebark stems and intend to grow some on as small single stem trees to see if the exfoliating trunks would look fun in winter.
catherine
PLANTED A COUPLE OF NINE BARK ABOUT A MONTH AGO. THEY ARE DIABOLO. THE BRANCHES ARE HANGING DOWN AND SPREADING OUT ALL OVER THE FLOWER BED AND INTO THE LAWN. CAN I TRIM THEM BACK. IT’S AUG. SEVENTH AND I LIVE IN CLEVELAND. THE TEMP IS AROUND EIGHTY FIVE. I KNOW I MIGHT NOT GET ANY FLOWERS NEXT SPRING, BUT I DON’T CARE. THANK YOU JOHN MACEJKO
John – I find these can be cut back at any time and they always bounce back. And I’m with you, I can deal with no flowers if it means keeping it in check. Thanks for reaching out!
I live in the Twin Cities. My neighbor thinks pruning can keep her ninebark bushes small and prevent branching on “canes.” They were planted about 2′ from her house and closer to the door than I think best. She PRUNED heavily; if she removes whole canes each year will that keep it small?
I took the branches to use in winter arrangements for my cherry table and to experiment with rooting. Any advice?
To keep her ninebark small, can she just remove a lot of canes each year?
Christa – I prune mine hard each spring but it still gets huge. I think it can be pruned to the ground to stay in check but then the blooms and bark are lost but she’d still have that great leaf color. Send pics if you can as I love to see how this type of pruning plays out. Thanks!