No. I’ve never had any water sprouts on my smoke bush. And it’s probably at least 7 years old and I’ve always trimmed it this way. Never had any problems with it. It is still dormant right now so there’s not much to see at the moment lol. But I’ll make another video this summer
@@majesticgardener5862 wow, well that goes against everything I ever learned and seen with pruning! I thought you could only do heading cuts with evergreens and if you did that with deciduous trees, they would water sprout like crazy. And I've even seen a few articles with people describing their heading cuts creating monsters out of their smoke bushes by the end of the season. That's why I was so surprised! I guess you learn something new everyday.
@@Bettebet79 when you perform tree topping or heading cuts, cutting all of the branches back to the same length or cutting a large tree back really hard leaving only stubs, it can cause water sprouts. I've always thought the best practice was to cut above a node, which is where the new healthy growth will be directed after the cut. When you Prune too much of a plant or in the wrong spots, it can send out tons of tiny, thin water sprouts from the tips of each branch or nub. They grow really fast to try and recover and all grow upwards in an unattractive manner... Thick branches ending abruptly with lots of tiny twigs coming from the ends. This is just what I've learned in my research! But I'm no expert. I'm still not sure if some trees water sprout and others don't though... Google trees with water sprouts and you can get a better idea of what they look like.
@@therootandvein She's not really performing heading cuts in the purest sense. Head cuts refer to material of more significant diameter and woodiness. She is essentially trimming twig sized leafy vegetation.
Smoke bush blooms on old wood. So you would need to prune it immediately after it flowered if you want to keep the blooms for the following year. You can always limb the smoke bush up if you like the look of the base but leave the top in its “natural” form as well.
The old guy sounds like a girl (kidding) , but I did learn that I can trim several large growths coming out of the top of my already shaped tree in the summer . Thanks for your advise
Lol. That was my husband doing the pruning while I Narrated. Glad it helped. It doesn’t hurt it to prune this time of year. It might decrease the flowers/smoke that the bush produces next year. But I personally don’t mind. I don’t really like the way the flower looks.
@@majesticgardener5862 Thank you for your reply. I love this bush/tree. I bought it from a nursery 3 years ago. It had one trunk and was about 4 ft high, shaped like a tree. It's not 7 foot tall, and has several of these stems coming up from the top about 3 feet each. That's what I am going to cut back. Thank you for your help. was just kidding about the voice, so cute :-)
Geri Schaffer I would think you could start relatively early to establish the base structure that you want. I prefer mine to have multiple trunks. I tried to find out more info online but didn’t find much. This is the best article I could find. I hope this helps homeguides.sfgate.com/prune-smoke-bush-tree-form-74251.html
Hello. I am unsure of the variety. But it is not a dwarf. As far as how long it took to get this size, I would have to guess about 3 years. It grew rapidly.
Spring and fall are usually considered the best time to trim trees. However, we usually trim the smoke bush in the summer too because it looks overgrown by then.
@@majesticgardener5862 thanks so much. We’ve just moved into a house with a smoke bush and it’s very leggy and open and 4mt high! It’s summer here so I was hoping I could attack it with the hedge trimmer.
This is just another option for pruning. This style showcases the structure of the tree and allows for under planting. If you want the flowers, simply prune immediately when it’s done flowering.
Love the look of the smoke bush as a tree! I have been wanting to add a smoke bush to my yard.
Thank you! I like that you can plant underneath so you’re not sacrificing space. And I like the manicured look better. The color is a great addition
Thank you, you are the only one I found to show you can cut the top. Thank you again. 😊
U cut all the color off?
No. Just the bottom branches. This helps show off the structure of the bush as well as allows for underplanting in a flower bed.
So beautiful 😍
Thank you!
What variety of smoke bush is this?
I’m not 100% certain but I think it’s Royal Purple.
Didn't this cause lots of water sprouts? I'd love to see an update video and the results of the pruning.
No. I’ve never had any water sprouts on my smoke bush. And it’s probably at least 7 years old and I’ve always trimmed it this way. Never had any problems with it. It is still dormant right now so there’s not much to see at the moment lol. But I’ll make another video this summer
@@majesticgardener5862 wow, well that goes against everything I ever learned and seen with pruning! I thought you could only do heading cuts with evergreens and if you did that with deciduous trees, they would water sprout like crazy. And I've even seen a few articles with people describing their heading cuts creating monsters out of their smoke bushes by the end of the season. That's why I was so surprised! I guess you learn something new everyday.
@@therootandvein what is water spouting?
@@Bettebet79 when you perform tree topping or heading cuts, cutting all of the branches back to the same length or cutting a large tree back really hard leaving only stubs, it can cause water sprouts. I've always thought the best practice was to cut above a node, which is where the new healthy growth will be directed after the cut. When you Prune too much of a plant or in the wrong spots, it can send out tons of tiny, thin water sprouts from the tips of each branch or nub. They grow really fast to try and recover and all grow upwards in an unattractive manner... Thick branches ending abruptly with lots of tiny twigs coming from the ends. This is just what I've learned in my research! But I'm no expert. I'm still not sure if some trees water sprout and others don't though... Google trees with water sprouts and you can get a better idea of what they look like.
@@therootandvein She's not really performing heading cuts in the purest sense. Head cuts refer to material of more significant diameter and woodiness. She is essentially trimming twig sized leafy vegetation.
What about the plumes of smoke? Will they be lost when you prune your tree in this manner?
Smoke bush blooms on old wood. So you would need to prune it immediately after it flowered if you want to keep the blooms for the following year. You can always limb the smoke bush up if you like the look of the base but leave the top in its “natural” form as well.
I wonder if this would work on the smaller variety Winecraft Black Smokebush
I haven’t tried it with other varieties but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Thank you
How old is this tree?
I don’t recall the exact year I planted that. I would estimate that at the time of the video it was 3-5 years old. It grew rapidly.
The old guy sounds like a girl (kidding) , but I did learn that I can trim several large growths coming out of the top of my already shaped tree in the summer . Thanks for your advise
Lol. That was my husband doing the pruning while I Narrated. Glad it helped. It doesn’t hurt it to prune this time of year. It might decrease the flowers/smoke that the bush produces next year. But I personally don’t mind. I don’t really like the way the flower looks.
@@majesticgardener5862 Thank you for your reply. I love this bush/tree. I bought it from a nursery 3 years ago. It had one trunk and was about 4 ft high, shaped like a tree. It's not 7 foot tall, and has several of these stems coming up from the top about 3 feet each. That's what I am going to cut back. Thank you for your help. was just kidding about the voice, so cute :-)
Thanks for showing your process. My bush is new and I’m wondering when I should begin the limbing up process. Any thoughts?
Geri Schaffer I would think you could start relatively early to establish the base structure that you want. I prefer mine to have multiple trunks. I tried to find out more info online but didn’t find much. This is the best article I could find. I hope this helps
homeguides.sfgate.com/prune-smoke-bush-tree-form-74251.html
What variety is this? The kind I bought say dwarf smokebush. How fast did this one take for this size?
Hello. I am unsure of the variety. But it is not a dwarf. As far as how long it took to get this size, I would have to guess about 3 years. It grew rapidly.
Looks to me like the variety ‘grace’ but hard to say for certain
cutting it however, means it will not bloom.
Correct. Unless you cut it after it blooms which is always an option.
What’s the best time of year to trim the tree? Thanks!
Spring and fall are usually considered the best time to trim trees. However, we usually trim the smoke bush in the summer too because it looks overgrown by then.
@@majesticgardener5862 thanks so much. We’ve just moved into a house with a smoke bush and it’s very leggy and open and 4mt high! It’s summer here so I was hoping I could attack it with the hedge trimmer.
You’re welcome! I’ve never had any adverse effects trimming mine in the summer. Congratulations on the new house
I don't get it, you cut off the part with the most interest.
This is just another option for pruning. This style showcases the structure of the tree and allows for under planting. If you want the flowers, simply prune immediately when it’s done flowering.