Pruning firebush hedges - Ask Extension
When is best time this year 2024 to cut back or prune overgrown firebush hedges that are approximately 5'7" in height and approx. 3 & 1/4 &qu...
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Pruning firebush hedges #859563
Asked February 21, 2024, 12:41 PM EST
When is best time this year 2024 to cut back or prune overgrown firebush hedges that are approximately 5'7" in height and approx. 3 & 1/4 " in width and extends about a foot over my walkway. How much is safe to cut off?
Cuyahoga County Ohio
Expert Response
Are you sure your have Firebush? I was unfamiliar with the name, and a search for it gave me Hamelia patens, a showy evergreen that is a zone 8B-11 plant. While common in Florida, it is unlikely to be growing in Ohio.
https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/firebush.html
Did you possibly mean Burning Bush (Euonymous alatus)?
https://extension.psu.edu/burning-bush-accurate-identification
https://extension.psu.edu/burning-bush
Burning bush is now considered an invasive plant in many states, including Ohio. It is more recommended to remove it than prune it for it's best appearance. If it is indeed the Burning Bush you are dealing with, and you want to keep it, it can take very hard pruning and it will only increase the branching and density of foliage. From personal experience, I have seen them pruned with a chain saw and regrow from stumps. Although birds will eat the fruit, it is considered poor quality nutrition, and the plants do spread and crowd out native shrubs.
https://plantfacts.osu.edu/pdf/0246-421.pdf
If you are looking for a native shrub to use in place of the Burning Bush, please consider one of the following: Ninebark, Oak leaf Hydrangea, Red chokeberry, Serviceberry, Winterberry, and Fragrant sumac. All of these are native and have interesting color.
I hope this helps; if you have further questions or if I have guessed wrongly about the plant you are asking about, please let me know and I will do my best to get more detailed information for you.
https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/firebush.html
Did you possibly mean Burning Bush (Euonymous alatus)?
https://extension.psu.edu/burning-bush-accurate-identification
https://extension.psu.edu/burning-bush
Burning bush is now considered an invasive plant in many states, including Ohio. It is more recommended to remove it than prune it for it's best appearance. If it is indeed the Burning Bush you are dealing with, and you want to keep it, it can take very hard pruning and it will only increase the branching and density of foliage. From personal experience, I have seen them pruned with a chain saw and regrow from stumps. Although birds will eat the fruit, it is considered poor quality nutrition, and the plants do spread and crowd out native shrubs.
https://plantfacts.osu.edu/pdf/0246-421.pdf
If you are looking for a native shrub to use in place of the Burning Bush, please consider one of the following: Ninebark, Oak leaf Hydrangea, Red chokeberry, Serviceberry, Winterberry, and Fragrant sumac. All of these are native and have interesting color.
I hope this helps; if you have further questions or if I have guessed wrongly about the plant you are asking about, please let me know and I will do my best to get more detailed information for you.
