General gardening topics

Choisya Pruning – The guide on when and how to prune

Last updated on March 2nd, 2022

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Choisyas should be pruned between the late spring and early summer and Choisya that are already flowering can be pruned after flowering, which is usually around June. Overgrown Choisyas can be pruned by around half if needed.

Choisya is easy to maintain and bring with them verdant leaves and beautiful, often scented, flowers. However, there are situations where you may need to cut back the amount of growth that you have, in which case it is important to know how to prune and when to prune. In general, Choisya doesn’t need pruning, except for preventing them from getting large or maintaining the desired shape. They should be pruned in spring after the risk of frost had passed because any new growth will cover pruning cuts and further promote new growth.

How to prune Choisya

The technique for legitimately pruning is the same as you would use with most evergreen plants. You need to take your sharpest set of pruning shears, being sure to sanitise them beforehand so that you don’t accidentally transfer diseases from one part of your garden to another.

You can cut back your shrub in late spring to early summer to about half its original size if needed and they will still recover well. When you do this, simply make a clean single cut (if possible) so you don’t leave a lot of wounds on the remainder of the plant that would leave the plant susceptible to diseases.

After you prune, be sure to add some general fertiliser, for example, growmore, to the soil to help boost the regrowth, it’s not essential but well worth doing.

Recommended secateurs for pruning

Felco Secateurs l125 Model 4 Standard
  • Forged Aluminium alloy handles
  • Standard Model with riveted anvil blade
  • Nut and bolt for aligning the heat treated steel cutting blade
  • Wire cutting notch
  • Lifetime guarantee against manufacturing defects

When to prune Choisya

You want to ideally undertake this process in the late spring, however, if it has started to flower you can do it in the middle of June after the first flush of flowers has reached their maturity. If you do it earlier in the season it won’t harm the plant but you may not get as many flowers that particular season.

What you don’t want to do is prune too early or too late to reduce the risk of the plant getting damaged by frost. Ideally, it should be pruned after the risk of frost has passed but early enough to give it plenty of time to produce new growth and mature before the winter sets in.

Pruning choisya - do you have to prune
Large Choisya ternata which could be pruned after flowering

This technique is the same whether you are growing your Choisya in pots or in the ground.

Realistically this particular plant doesn’t require pruning of any kind. It is one of the most low-maintenance plants you can add to your garden, however, if it is in a confined space (or you are growing in pots) it may have outgrown the area in question and under these circumstances alone you can prune it back to better fit the size or space you have.

Where to buy Choisya

Last update on 2024-12-03 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Welcome to my site, my name is John and I have been lucky enough to work in horticultural nurseries for over 15 years in the UK. As the founder and editor as well as researcher, I have a City & Guilds Horticultural Qualifications which I proudly display on our About us page. I now work full time on this website where I review the very best gardening products and tools and write reliable gardening guides. Behind this site is an actual real person who has worked and has experience with the types of products we review as well as years of knowledge on the topics we cover from actual experience. You can reach out to me at john@pyracantha.co.uk

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