Re-Growing the Berberis

Hi everyone

Following an earlier posting a few months ago (Berberis - Will it survive?) I cut down said berberis leaving just the stump, put down some new compost and let nature take care of most of the watering

By the beginning of this month it was showing signs!

Now the problem is that with the recent heavy rain, the new stems have grown so tall that they are unable to support themselves and most of them are now trailing on the floor...

What's the trick here? Am I best to keep them pruned short for a while until they thicken up? If I trim the long ones down will they stand up again or is it a case of cutting them off completely and letting new ones re-grow?

Thanks

Stuart

 

Looks like Darwinii stuartp22

No problem at all. Typical reaction to such a hard cut. Simply prune the stems back....half way or so, not critical, and new shoots will form on them. The fallen stems? Just cut them back as hard as you like. They will thicken up and be stronger

 

That really is a healthy looking specimen. Can't add to Verdun's advice. Why not peg that lower shoot down. It will soon root.

 

That's great, thanks both for the advice!

This is where it had grown to:



I've trimmed it back and will try and keep on top of it weekly until the stems thicken



Out of interest, this is the other one which fortunately didn't suffer the same fate

 

Excellent Stuartp22

By the way, you can shape your Berberis effectively by simple pruning. Those near horizontal branches can be cut back to upward facing buds to encourage vertical growth