[Zippy]

I know you are supposed to lightly cut back a Hebe just after it has flowered but this one has started to sprawl and has leggy branches which no longer have lateral branches, leaves or flowers.

Can I safely cut it back by a third? Most branches are about three to four feet long and sprawling.

Can you cut Hebes back hard in this way?

[countrygardener]

hi there,
If its a large flowering hybrid then its ok to cut back hard into old wood but this is normally done in the spring but if it was mine then i would do it as hebes are quite tough plants.

[viettaclark]

I lost quite a bit on my big hebes in the cold Winter and I had ugly thick sprawling bare branches. I gave them a hard cut back in March to shape and they're slowly growing new shoots but I'm planning on cutting back hard again now to get rid of the dead wood. They can take a hard prune but a bit at a time is prudent. Just do a third and see how it goes.....

[catllar]

I prune mine by the rule of thirds - each year I remove a third of the growth right down to the ground and then everythree years you have a "new" bush. Works for me. I do that with most of my deciduous shrubs.

[jamima]

I lost both my Hebe this year due to bad snow and frost ,i know several people who did , i always thought they were pretty tough !!

[Goosegirl]

The rule of thirds is a good one - just make sure you gove it a good feed afterwards.