This being California things tend to grow really well. That’s what happened with some bushes alongside the patio. They were at least four feet tall at the end of last season.
Unfortunately there was no longer growth in the lowest few feet. The bushes had gotten leggy. Not a good look.
I called Dennis Westler.
I grew up in 5E, Dennis 5F. Neither of us should know anything about plants. It’s what Dennis went to college for. He is the Orchid Doctor. He answers my simpler questions too.
“Shade,” was his answer. The bushes had grown so well they were now shading themselves, limiting lower growth.
It was time to cut. Cutting back plants has always been successful for me. Still, I cut one and waited to make sure.
Now the other bushes have been reduced to bare stubs. From a distance they look dead but when you’re close you can see growth has begun.
Sometimes you’ve just got to cut.
Those plants look like my butterfly plants ,but they are a lot larger. My butterfly plants have the what looks like roots growing out of them, but they look dead. What kind of plant is that? It would be good to find out if I should go buy something else there!
Thanks Geoff for your answer in advance!
I too am interested as to what the plant is called. I have several Hydrangea bushes which did well the first couple of years, then one year there were no flowers, only leaves. That had something to do with our weather that summer–I get confused as to what to cut back as they bloom off of the previous years wood. There is a lot of dead wood in the center. Then I look at those in the bank parking lot, taken care of by professionals, and they get chopped down to about 2 feet high, every year, and bloom profusely! Guess I will have to get more daring!