This sleek evergreen looks after itself, but needs a tidy every few years. Jon Brocklebank reveals how to do it

OUR EXPERT

This glossy evergreen is a reliable shrub that can handle full sun or part-shade. It’s good natured and quite fast growing, naturally forming a relaxed, mounded shape (H and S2.5m/ 8ft) without pruning. The main reason for cutting it back annually is to remove the flowered shoots, which can encourage a second, smaller flush of flowers later in the season. These may last into winter in a mild year.

Plants are susceptible to frost damage, which turns foliage pale, or brown. Badly frost-damaged plants can be pruned back hard and the shrub will respond and recover well. Pruning can leave the shrub looking a bit bare, but it will start to reshoot in a few weeks at this time of year.

This particular choisya was planted in 1995. It has been trimmed before, but not for a few years. Today I’m pruning to restore its neat shape and take off the flowered shoots. I need to keep the shape even, so I’ll take off the same amount all over, but with special attention to removing any longer, straggly bits. The parts of

READ THE PLANT

Leaves form under the outer layer of top growth, so the plant won’t be completely bare after pruning and will re-shoot in a couple of weeks. the shrub that are in shade have grown more slowly, so I can remove less.

With any evergreen it’s important to attend to its overall shape when necessary, and stop it from becoming too large. Here’s it’s partly blocking the path so we must remove the lower stems by about a foot to free up the pathway.

Plants like this flower on old wood, so it’s important to time your pruning straight after the fragrant white flowers have gone over, from late spring to early summer. Here I’ll cut back the old flowering stems to a bud, removing about a foot. Generally cutting off about 25-30cm (10-12in) is enough to encourage a second f lush of f lowers.

Try to keep the cuts aligned with each other so the overall finish remains neat and the shrub keeps its rounded look. The buds are opposite eachother on choisya so you can cut straight across each stem with a pair of sharp secateurs. Don’t use a hedgetrimmer because the leaves are quite large so they’d be cut in half and turn brown, which would look unsightly. ✿

KNOW WHEN TO STOP

The overall effect doesn’t have to be rounded – you can prune to raise the canopy too. Pick a shape that suits the shrub’s role in your garden.