Home Gardners: Help me win this bet with DH. $100 on the line!

[luckystar112]

*I could totally be wrong, in which case DH would win the $100

DH recently trimmed down one of our crazily overgrown flower bushes. He is adamant that the new growth occurs at the tips of the bush (where he snipped), and his reasoning is because he believes that is how our hedges grow. He cuts off the top, and the hedge grows from where he cut outward.

I told him that he is wrong, that plants grow from the base...kind of like a tree. The tip of a branch doesn''t produce the new growth; growth occurs where the branch meets the trunk, forcing the limb outward. And smaller branches grow off the base of the main branch and so on.

Who is right?

If you have proof (video or something?) that would be even better.

Thanks in advance!

 

[MsP]

Do you know what type of plant it is? ...there are many types of flower bushes.

Some flower bushes definitely grow in the manner he suggests.

 

[luckystar112]

It''s an Althea or Rose of Sharon (which could be the same thing, but I know nothing about plants!)

 

[VRBeauty]

Pruning Rose of Sharon
Submitted by JoCoEMG on June 27, 2008 - 12:57pm.
Althea (Rose of Sharon) blooms on new wood (current season growth), so the best time to prune is in the early spring. If you prune now, you will lose any flowers, and reduce the amount of foliage available for photosynthesis. Rose of Sharon can be pruned hard in the spring, cutting it back to ground level. By rejuvenating the plant in this way, the size of the flowers should increase. Here is the link to the K-State guidelines for pruning: http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/hort2/c550.pdf.
Carole
JOCO EMG (fromhttp://kcgardens.kansascity.com/node/888#comment-1680)

It looks like you're both right.... but if you do a heavy pruning now, you might be sacrificing this year's blooms. Consider letting your hubby prune his way now, and prune it your way early next year.




ETA: I think that means I get the $100....

 

[luckystar112]

Yeah, we pruned WAY too late this year. It was in full bloom when he did it and now there are fewer than 10 flowers left.

I''m confused by what you c/p though...
Does "Althea blooms on new wood" mean that it grows from the tips?

 

[VRBeauty]

From http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/pruning/pruning.html

shrubs that bloom after June usually do so from buds which are formed on shoots that grow the same spring. These shrubs should be pruned in later winter to promote vigorous shoot growth in spring.

This site also has a good illustration of how a bush that blooms from new growth should be pruned -- see their crape myrtle example.

 

[purrfectpear]

Date: 6/3/2009 3:35:37 PM
Author: luckystar112
Yeah, we pruned WAY too late this year. It was in full bloom when he did it and now there are fewer than 10 flowers left.

I''m confused by what you c/p though...
Does ''Althea blooms on new wood'' mean that it grows from the tips?

Nope, "new wood" means the shoots that start out from the ground. Lilacs are like that also.

There are several shrubs that do sprout from where you prune, so hubby wasn''t totally all wet. Roses for example.

 

[Mara]

yep it depends on the plant. even many 'trees' wants to be a shrub most of the time so we trim off a lot of shoots that come from near the bottom of the 'tree' even if it's been trained into a shrub for years and years...actually i love trees that are more shrubby, they tend to have fun habits.

honestly, from my experience it seems like most plants grow BOTH from the bottom AND the top, like for example a rose does put a shoot (new growth bud) where you trimmed it down to a leaf joint BUT you also can have a whole new shoot come from the bottom of the plant, near the base, or if it's an own-root rose from under the dirt.

but as to where they bloom, that's different, some bloom on old (last year's) wood vs new (this year's) wood.

since your question was not on BLOOMS but growth specifically, i think you are both right, sorry!