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California Gardening

old Dendromecon

aquilachrysaetos

9 years ago

I've had one in the backyard for over 10 years now. Once it got through the first year it's been the easiest most carefree shrub I've ever had. Rarely had to water it past the first couple years. One good soak at the end of winter if it's been dry. One year we had stiff winds that blew it down and broke it in half. It came back.

Here's my question: This year it's looking kinda scraggly. It has trunks as thick as my arm. Should I chop it down and see if it comes back?

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Comments (5)

calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
9 years ago
At my old location in Watsonville I had a similar problem. I cut the whole bush down to about 2 feet and it recovered in one year. Al
aquilachrysaetos
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you very much! I really like this bush and want to save it.
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emmarene9
9 years ago
Can one of you tell me if it looks scrubby?
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
9 years ago
Mine grew multiple stems from the ground up to about 6 feet,making an open loose shrub. Al
aquilachrysaetos
Original Author
9 years ago
Mine got large but the arching stems looked graceful to me. Lately it's got a lot of dead wood and looked not so graceful.

We cut it down yesterday. The root burl is two feet across!

I may take the loppings and burn them in the firepit and scatter the ashes around it in a sort of loose approximation of the aftermath of a chaparral fire.

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