Cut back Beauty Bush or leave it alone?

[frdnicholas]

My Beauty Bush is about 3-5 years old. We inherited it when we bought the house. It's about 4 ft tall and 2 ft wide. Do I cut it back or just leave it be? The branches are all alive and blossomed during the spring. I have left it alone each winter and it seems fine, so I'm leaning towards leaving it alone but thought I'd ask and see if it would be strengthened by cutting it back?

 

[marlingardener]

We have two Beauty Bushes, and we don't cut them back. One is about 13 years old, and the other, grown from a cutting, is about five years old. We have lots of room, so we just let them do their thing.
If your branches are all alive in spring, and blossom, it must be a happy plant that doesn't particularly need strengthening.

 

[frdnicholas]

Thanks, I'll leave it alone. How big is your 13 year old?

 

[marlingardener]

Gosh, I've really never measured it, but it is about four feet tall, and perhaps three feet wide. The younger one is about two feet tall, and two feet wide, but it is in poorer soil and under a large established tree.

 

[Tetters]

May I ask what you call a ''beauty bush'' please

 

[frdnicholas]

If those are the dimensions of your 13 year old bush, maybe mine has reached its maximum size. It's about the same as yours. In any case, it's a beautiful bush and I'm thrilled to have inherited it.

 

[frdnicholas]

That's the only name I know of. I found it on Google, not knowing what it was.

 

[Tetters]

Does it look like this Kolkwitzia amabilis ?

 

[roadrunner]

Mine is a couple years old and produces tons of berries for the birds, but it's gangly looking at about 5-6 feet tall and about 7 ft wide. I was thinking about cutting it back this winter, but still not sure....

 

[marlingardener]

Callicarpa Americana is the variety we have, aka American Beauty Bush.

 

[frdnicholas]

Yes, we have a Callicarpa Americana also.

 

[Tetters]

This is a fine example for using the Latin name of plants. Callicarpa and Kolkwitzia are often named as ''beauty bush'' There are lots of other examples as well.
It is difficult to know what plant we are talking about, and one can very easily give totally the wrong advice.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

saw this video once that some "special gardener person" cut the whole thing back to about her knee high. Just bothered me. I have 4 of them. I will give them a slight shaping, but for the most part I leave them alone.

 

[roadrunner]

Mine is also a Callicarpa Americana and the birds love it

 

[Esther Knapicius]

picture taken from my bedroom window.