Is there a way to get my Deutzia to flower more and for a longer period?

Hi Guys,

The Deutzia in my front garden is lovely when it flowers (and the bees seem to agree) but blink and you'll miss it flowering! :o( I think it may be a Deutzia scabra due to flower form and habit. Any suggestions for getting it flower longer (and perhaps be more floriferous?).

Thanks,

Nick

 

Yes Nikolaos
It’s all to do with the pruning I think.
It’s a shame cos I have just pruned mine back...over the weekend in fact...and you could have seen it how it was. (I think I posted a picture of it on the forum) It was smothered to every tip with flowers. A neighbour of mine, stubborn in her habits, insists in cutting hers like a hedge resulting in very few flowers.
I remove all flowered stems back to where new shoots are forming. I also remove old stems right to the ground....you can trace these stems by the lighter coloured, more gnarled wood. This treatment control the size of the plant and induces more prolific flowering.
Flowers form on the wood made now so pruning immediately after flowering is important to get those long wands of flowers next year. It may take a couple of years to get your deutzia into flowering mode again but persevere.

 

Thanks @Verdun! I strongly suspected it had something to do with pruning because I tend to just trim the tops off it. Doing a much milder version of what your stubborn neighbour does, by the sound of it.

I'd briefly thought about removing older stems but have got a bit attached to that peeling bark. But hey, if getting rid of a few gives me better flowers, off they go! LOL Can't wait to see how it does in the next couple of years now I know how to prune it properly!

Just to be clear, when you say you remove all flowered stems, you mean immediately after flowering, correct?

Nick

 

That “peeling bark” is not really productive though. Deutzias are beautiful flowering shrubs

 

Haha, I quite like the look of it, though @Verdun. Never mind, I'll take a close-up photo before I attack it. For the memories... XD

 

Yes Nikalaos, remove after flowering