I call the long, arching branches, moon shots".  My husband, John, calls such regrowth, "the fright".  Although shearing is fast, and a real no-brainer, it is self defeating.  The newly stimulated regrowth quickly destroys the neat and tidy sheared look.  And therefore, in the not-so-long run, it is more expensive than selective pruning.  The more you shear, the more moon shots you get, which need to be re-sheared, leading to a greater number of shoots, and on, and on.  One is locked into a constant battle, and the plants look like heck half the time anyway.

REHABILITATIVE PRUNING on previously sheared spireas may require that the pruner remove a third of the "split ends" for three years in a row, always hiding the cuts inside the plant.


RADICAL RENOVATION is sometimes the wiser course for people who can stand the shock of seeing their shrubs cut entirely to the ground.  It is recommended in situations where the shrubs have been sheared for numerous years and the budget is tight (for example, mass plantings on commercial sites.)  To avoid getting fired, the grounds crews may want to cut one third of the shrubs down to the ground in successive years.  The plants will grow back remarkably fast, since they have the root systems of full sized plants.  But the new growth will be straight for a year or two.    >>more...

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9