Mock Orange

I have a very old and large mock orange.The shrub has not been pruned for many years and is very overgrown with an abundance of very old wood at the base.It badly needs attention. Will it be OK to cut it down to a foot or so of the ground to encourage new growth in the spring?.I do not want to get rid of the plant but it certainly needs something done.

 

Alan,

I have just bought a mock orange so will watch this thread with interest.

 

ac or alan..
always looking for different platnts/ shrubs
any chance of a picture. pleeease if it looks as good as it sounds ill be gettin one

 

Philadelphus are best pruned after flowering, since they flower next season on the growth they made this season. So if you cut yours down now, you will be removing the flowering potential for next summer.
When you do prune, you may be as brutal as you wish, ours grow from below ground when cut back really hard.
Oddly enough I do not think I have ever bothered taking a photo of any of ours, very remiss of me. We have at least 6 different ones around the place somewhere. At least two do not seem to be in general commerce either.

 

Thanks Palustris for the information. My shrub is so overgrown and untidy I will cut it down to the ground and look forward to it's new lease of life in the summer of 2009. Thanks again. Alan

 

You could always stick a couple of pieces of the lighter brown wood in the ground somewhere as cuttings , failsafe stuff. I always do that just in case.

 

If you look on

www.j.parkerdutchbulbs.co.uk

you can see it in all its glory :D

 

Scratch that, wrong link. Try;

http://www.jparkers.co.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.standard

:D