Hedge cut Philadelphus

Hi


I have a customer that has a philadelphus.


You can see it has been hedge cut in the past.


It’s a ball. I know, ridiculous… anyways. She is adamant she wants it kept as a ball. To be honest it would take me three years to get it back to am open fan can grower again.


I am fully aware of how to prune a philadelphus properly. If it’s been done properly before. By simply heading back flowered shoots to a pair of buds lower down and cutting a few old canes to the ground each year.


Anyways. It’s just finished flowering and is converting and looks a mess.


My question is if I just leave it to put on some new growth after flowering. And just ball it but not too deep, retaining a section of current years growth for next spring then will it flower? Off the small section I have left on it after hedge cutting it?


Regards.

 

Ours was cut back for years and we had no flowers. So now it is left so we have the flowers and the scent and then cut back to control vigour.

 

If it has time to put on new growth after you prune it, that new growth should produce some flowers next year, but it won't be a tight neat ball by the time it flowers. I think your customer has to choose between keeping it in a tidy ball shape and decent flowering.