Re: prune it? Philadelphus virginal

**D* G* <d*@xplornet.com>**

Dirr says they can be cut to the ground.  And given their propensity to
be a fast-growing shrub, I'd be really tempted to not feed them other
than a shovel of compost in the fall or spring.  Overfeeding is going to
make them grow big, fast, lush without a heavy bloom.

Doug

On Sat, 2007-15-09 at 17:01 -0500, Molly Day wrote:
> I did a quick internet search because ours has also been in the ground for 5
> years without flowering. BBC gardening calls it a beginner's plant and maybe
> so but not so much with the flowering part.
> At the Master Gardener's Conference in Little Rock AK this year I saw one in
> bloom and it increased my interest in coaxing flowers. Bloom food made no
> difference. Ours is planted in the same general light, water, etc. situation
> as the full-of-flowers one I saw.
> 
> Equally frustrated and equally out of ideas, I think I'll follow the BBC
> advice and cut it back. That method makes other perennial shrubs such as
> fortsythia bloom.
> 
> "Time to prune: July to August . . .To keep plants in shape, cut back shoots
> to a strong buds every year after flowering. On older plants, also remove
> roughly a quarter of the oldest branches each year to encourage new growth.
> ."
> Martha in Muskogee
> 
> On 9/15/07, loisdan@juno.com <loisdan@juno.com> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Folks,
> >
> > Any suggestions? We've had our Philadelphus Virginal for five years and
> > it has never bloomed. Tried superphosphate this year -- nothing. At first
> > we thought, it might be "not enough sun" until I went on Gardenweb, where
> > there was a whole lot of conjecture about the virginal strain being no
> > good, about Wayside plants not growing, etc., etc., etc. My husband says
> > pull it out, but it is a lush and beautiful mature shrub at this point
> > and I'm very determined to make it bloom!
> >
> > I've heard either full sun or part shade is OK. My Lily-of-the-Valley
> > struggle with too much light in the same spot, and the Iris bloom, so I
> > was thinking I had enough light. We are really, really frustrated.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Lois de Vries
> > Visit http://loisdevries.blogspot.com
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