CELEBRATING 28 YEARS! Welcome to My weekly series! THE LANDSCAPE PROFESSIONAL ASK Linda K. Lillie of Sprigs & Twigs Linda K. Lille has been President of Sprigs & Twigs, Inc. for the last 25 years. She is a graduate of Connecticut College in Botany, an accredited NOFA Organic Land Care Professional, a Connecticut Master Gardener and a national award winning landscape designer for her design and installation projects. Linda- the pieris japonica on this pathway has become over exuberant. I am thinking about cutting the shrubs all the way back. I think they will grow back, but is that a good idea or should I just prune back part of the bushes? Thanks for your help, Kris Hi Kris, The perfect time of the year to cut them all the way back to about 2' tall is the period from mid-April through mid-June when the plants are actively pushing out new growth. In fact, this is the only time of the year that 'rejuvenation pruning' should be done. Pruning at this time helps to create a fuller EMAIL OR MAIL YOUR QUESTIONS TO: info@sprigsandtwigs.net or Linda Lillie, Sprigs & Twigs Inc, PO Box 245, Gales Ferry, CT 06335 shrub. If you were to perform this drastic pruning in the fall, the shrub would die. Once you have the bulk of the shrub cut back, make sure the remaining branches are thinned and all are growing away from the center of the shrub. Loosen the soil around the base of the plant and fertilize with Hollytone to help with new growth. Keep the plant well- watered because after pruning, the soil around the base of the plant will be exposed to more sunlight and will dry out quicker. Good Luck and thank you for your question. Sprigs & Twigs WWW.SPRIGSANDTWIGS.NET 860-235-0752 WE'RE GOING DIGITAL! SIGN UP USING THE QR CODE OR LINK BELOW! NEVER MISS A THING. ARTICLES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR EMAIL SO YOU CAN SAVE YOUR FAVORITES & SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS DIRECTLY. https://mailchi.mp/sprigsandtwigs/np-subscribe CELEBRATING 28 YEARS ! Welcome to My weekly series ! THE LANDSCAPE PROFESSIONAL ASK Linda K. Lillie of Sprigs & Twigs Linda K. Lille has been President of Sprigs & Twigs , Inc. for the last 25 years . She is a graduate of Connecticut College in Botany , an accredited NOFA Organic Land Care Professional , a Connecticut Master Gardener and a national award winning landscape designer for her design and installation projects . Linda- the pieris japonica on this pathway has become over exuberant . I am thinking about cutting the shrubs all the way back . I think they will grow back , but is that a good idea or should I just prune back part of the bushes ? Thanks for your help , Kris Hi Kris , The perfect time of the year to cut them all the way back to about 2 ' tall is the period from mid - April through mid - June when the plants are actively pushing out new growth . In fact , this is the only time of the year that ' rejuvenation pruning ' should be done . Pruning at this time helps to create a fuller EMAIL OR MAIL YOUR QUESTIONS TO : info@sprigsandtwigs.net or Linda Lillie , Sprigs & Twigs Inc , PO Box 245 , Gales Ferry , CT 06335 shrub . If you were to perform this drastic pruning in the fall , the shrub would die . Once you have the bulk of the shrub cut back , make sure the remaining branches are thinned and all are growing away from the center of the shrub . Loosen the soil around the base of the plant and fertilize with Hollytone to help with new growth . Keep the plant well- watered because after pruning , the soil around the base of the plant will be exposed to more sunlight and will dry out quicker . Good Luck and thank you for your question . Sprigs & Twigs WWW.SPRIGSANDTWIGS.NET 860-235-0752 WE'RE GOING DIGITAL ! SIGN UP USING THE QR CODE OR LINK BELOW ! NEVER MISS A THING . ARTICLES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR EMAIL SO YOU CAN SAVE YOUR FAVORITES & SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS DIRECTLY . https://mailchi.mp/sprigsandtwigs/np-subscribe